


caramel macchiato

by Vitexy



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Break Up, Drama, Established Relationship, M/M, Misunderstandings, Unrequited Love, Yunho is trying his best, body switching, body switching au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:53:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27094606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vitexy/pseuds/Vitexy
Summary: Yunho doesn't know why this started happening or how to make it stop because living in Wooyoung's body is kind of a double edged sword.Or: Yunho falls in love in the wrong body
Relationships: Choi San/Jeong Yunho, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jung Wooyoung/Kang Yeosang
Comments: 48
Kudos: 248





	caramel macchiato

**Author's Note:**

> I keep trying to write things that are less intense and long and I keep failing at it. I did leave Yunho's backstory unfulfilled on purpose mostly because it was a lot to delve into but also so that you guys are free to come to your own conclusions! lol 
> 
> I am coming off back to back weeks of just failing at pretty much everything so I'm sorry it took so long ;n;

Unlike most weekday mornings, Yunho isn’t woken up by the sound of his alarm, but instead by someone furiously shaking him awake. With a groan, he curls into himself, struggling to wake up. It’s always a struggle to wake up although he thinks he’s done a pretty good job training himself to get up at the sound of his alarm. “Five more minutes, Mom,” he groans, stretching himself out. 

There’s a snort from above him. “I’m not your Mom, dumbass,” a distinctly male voice says to him. “You better get up though, or you’re going to miss our 9AM class.” Yunho freezes, eyes blinking open as he abruptly sits up in bed. “Jesus,” the boy complains, taking a step back from him. 

Yunho stares at the stranger by his bed. Who is he? Why is he in his room? No. His eyes frantically scan his surroundings, and this is definitely not his room. This is not his house. He spies the other bed in the corner of the room, and the two desks shoved together. It looks like a dorm room. 

“Where am I?” he asks. 

The boy raises an eyebrow at his question. “Uh, your room?” he says slowly like Yunho is too stupid to comprehend him. The confusion must be evident on his face though, because the boy’s own expression morphs from smug to concerned in only a matter of seconds. “Are you okay, Wooyoung?” 

Yunho stares. “Who’s Wooyoung?” 

The boy scoffs at his response, whatever seriousness he had quickly dissipating at Yunho’s response. “Dude, did you get _that_ drunk last night? I know you went out to party with San, but Christ, control yourself.” He throws a pair of socks at Yunho’s face, and they bounce off his head and onto his lap. “You’re always so weird after you go to a frat party, I swear. Is this your new excuse to skip our 9AM?” 

“I—” Yunho throws the blanket off himself and rolls out of bed, nearly stumbling and falling over when the drop to the floor is a lot higher than he expects. “I don’t have a 9AM though?” he tries. He specifically set his schedule so he didn’t have a class before 10. He tried for 11, but it just wasn’t possible. His art history professor just refused to have a later class for some reason. 

“Seriously? You’re not going to get out of it by pretending you’re still drunk,” the boy snaps at him, quickly losing his patience with Yunho. “Now hurry up and get dressed. I’ll buy you a coffee because I feel sorry for you, but that’s the most you’re getting from me!” 

Yunho looks down at himself, pulling his T-shirt down to take a look at it. There’s a logo for something he doesn’t recognize, and he furrows his eyebrows together. When did he get this shirt? Why is it so small anyways? “Wooyoung!” Yunho doesn’t pay any attention to the name, still frowning down at his clothes, unable to comprehend what he’s wearing when the boy suddenly comes back to clap his hands in front of Yunho’s face, startling him. 

“Dude, get dressed,” he tells Yunho. 

“Uh, right.” Yunho wonders if this is a dream. Realistically it must be one, although he certainly feels awake and conscious, but how can this be real when someone he doesn’t know is commanding him around and calling him a completely different name? Still, Yunho adheres to what he assumes must be dream logic and rummages through the drawer beneath the loft bed in the dorm room. 

He only just barely finishes getting himself dressed when his dream-roommate says to him, “Alright, let’s go, Loser.” 

Yunho looks up. Is this a dream? This guy certainly seems real enough. 

“Are you okay?” he asks, noticing Yunho’s stare. “You’ve been really quiet all morning.” 

“Um, I don’t feel so good,” he says. Maybe the guy will let him stay here, and Yunho can figure out what the hell to do by himself. 

His roommate makes a face at him. “I’m not buying that excuse again,” he says. “Let’s go.” With a sigh, Yunho walks up to him, pausing when he holds up a palm to stop him. “Dude,” his roommate sighs. 

“What?” Yunho asks. 

The roommate raises his eyebrows at the question. “Uh, your backpack? Your phone? Your student ID? I know you think class is a joke, but you could at least try.” 

Yunho scratches his head, looking around and spotting those items all at one of the desks. None of them are familiar though. “Right,” he says anyways, walking over to the desk to pick them up. He swings the backpack over both his shoulders and pockets the student ID. He pauses when he picks up the phone and the lock screen lights up. On it is an unfamiliar face that Yunho stares at for a good minute. 

He doesn’t know who that person is, but maybe that’s not all that surprising when he doesn’t know who the guy ordering him around is either. What gets him is when the lock screen fades back to black and the same face he had seen on the picture greets him in the reflection of the black screen.

Panic starts to set into Yunho at that point. This isn’t real. This can’t be real, can it? Why does he feel so awake though? This doesn’t feel like a dream at all. 

“Wooyoung, come on. I can’t buy you a coffee if you take too long or we’re going to be late.” When he turns back to the roommate, he sighs, shaking his head at Yunho. “What would you do without me?” he says with a little smile. 

Yunho still isn’t sure what’s going on, but whatever this is doesn’t seem like it will be ending any time soon. He contemplates just being blunt and asking who the hell this guy is, but something about this just feels too real, and the guy is clearly already annoyed by him. Perhaps his best strategy for now is to simply appease this guy because so far he’s kind of been guiding Yunho. “So, what can I call you?” he asks, trying to be as casual as possible. 

The roommate cocks an eyebrow at his question as his lips stretch into a smug little smile. “You can call me your Master,” he answers with a cackle. 

  
  
  
  


The thing about relying on his—uh— _Master_ to get through the day is that they inevitably have different schedules. His roommate leads him to his first two classes of the day but shoots him a weird look when Yunho tries to follow him to a third. “Don’t you have communications next?” 

“Oh. Right,” Yunho pretends to look bashful. 

“How much did you actually drink last night?” he asks with a roll of his eyes. “I think it actually gave you brain damage.” 

“Uh, more than usual,” he lies. He’d spent most of his Sunday with Hongjoong. The elder had let him lounge on the couch of his little studio apartment as they watched movies all day long. He’s not sure how this guy spent his weekend, but it clearly must have been wild. 

“Well then, don’t forget that we’re meeting in front of the library at noon to get lunch.” Yunho nods his head mechanically to his words. That shouldn’t be too hard. That gives him like an hour to kill and finding the library probably isn’t too hard. He could likely ask anyone for directions to the library. 

A part of him feels bad when he realizes that he’s not going to one of this guy’s classes, but when he realizes he has a whole hour to himself he rushes to find a secluded area for privacy. Once he’s satisfied he pulls out the phone from this morning, tapping the screen to turn it on. He holds it up, breathing a sigh of relief when it unlocks, and he thanks his lucky stars for facial recognition. 

Alright so he has access to the phone. 

He figures there’s really only one way to verify if this is all real or not. Pulling up the dial pad, Yunho hesitates for a moment before he keys in one of only two phone numbers he knows by memory. He holds the phone up to his ear and bites down on his lip. It takes only two rings before someone picks up on the other end. 

“Oh, my God. Oh, my God. This is my phone number. Who the _fuck_ are you?” Yunho holds his breath. It’s so weird hearing his voice on the other end of the line although he’s not speaking. 

He digs into his back pocket to pull out the student ID from this morning. “Is this,” he glances down at the name on the ID, “Jung Wooyoung?” 

“Yes! Who the hell are you? How are you using my phone? I literally haven’t been able to get onto yours. What the hell is your passcode anyways?” 

“Calm down,” Yunho says, trying to placate him. 

“Calm down?” his voice shrieks back at him. “I woke up in your weird, giant ass body this morning, screaming into the void because no one was home. Some guy came to pick me up to take me to school, and I had to bullshit the fact that I was sick so he’d leave me the fuck alone, and I haven’t been able to unlock this phone!” 

“Listen,” Yunho says in a soothing voice, “my name is Yunho, and I think you’re in my body.” 

Wooyoung laughs, Yunho’s deep voice traveling through the speakers. “You think? So what, you’re in my body? What did I do to deserve this?” 

“I don’t know,” Yunho responds. “Look, I’m just as confused as you. I was convinced this was just some kind of lucid dream until you actually picked up.” 

“Jesus,” Wooyoung curses. “So what are you doing? I’ve just kind of holed myself up in your room. I think some of your friends tried to call, but I didn’t answer.” 

“Oh.” They probably think he’s having one of his episodes if he complained about feeling sick to get out of going to school. “Yeah, they’re probably worried.” 

“What about you?” Wooyoung presses. “What have you been doing? What’s going on? Has anyone realized that you, like, aren’t me yet?” He sounds panicked, not that Yunho can necessarily blame him. He’s also feeling rather panicked, but he’s trying his best to maintain his cool for his sake as well as this other guy. 

“I don’t think so,” he says. “I couldn’t avoid your, uh, dorm mate, but he seems to just think you partied too hard yesterday.” 

Wooyoung sighs, “Bless Yeosang and his poor opinion of me.” Yunho wants to laugh at his statement but he doesn’t think now is the time exactly. 

Yeosang. Okay, he can finally put a name to the face without looking insane. “So, I’m, uh, wandering your campus. Admittedly I’m skipping some of your classes though. I don’t know where they are,” Yunho tells him. 

“That’s fine,” Wooyoung assures him. “That’s pretty on par for me anyways.” 

“Also, Yeosang said we’re meeting together at noon for lunch.” 

“Oh, shit.”

Yunho presses his lips together in a tight line, worried by Wooyoung’s reaction. “Why, is there a problem? Is there something I should be worried about?” 

“No, I mean, I don’t know,” Wooyoung stammers. “Look, it’s—I have a boyfriend. He’s definitely coming, and he’s pretty touchy, so, like, you need to play it cool with him, okay?” 

“Okay?” Yunho doesn’t know what any of that means. “What should I do? Do you have a pet name for him or something?” 

“Huh? No, not really. Just, I don’t know, don’t freak out or something. Ugh.” There’s a brief pause on Wooyoung’s end. “Dude, your friends will _not_ stop calling me. What am I supposed to do?” 

Yunho nibbles on his thumb, glancing at a student who walks by him, and he freezes up. It feels weird. It’s like imposter syndrome in the most literal definition. “Text Hongjoong,” he advises in a whisper like it’s a secret that can’t be overheard. “Just tell him not today and the calls should stop.” 

“Okay. What do I do if they come over again?” Wooyoung asks. “One of them literally just walked into your house? Do you not lock the door?” 

“That was Hongjoong,” Yunho says. “And he has a key for reasons. He shouldn’t bother you today, but if he does just don’t say much. Just answer yes or no.” 

“Ugh. Can I have my body back?” 

Yunho actually does laugh at that. “I wish I could give it to you, trust me.” 

“Please tell me we don’t have to do something gross like kiss to switch back?” 

“Uh,” Yunho doesn’t even have a response to that. He was joking right? “I hope not considering it looks like you’re in Seoul. I live pretty far away.” 

“God, get me _out of here_.” 

“Just lay low for today,” Yunho suggests. “I’ll call you later when I can, and we can figure this out.” 

Wooyoung clucks his tongue and agrees, abruptly hanging up on Yunho who doesn’t know how to interpret that. Was he mad? At Yunho? This isn’t his fault, right? Yunho walks forward in a daze, It all feels so surreal. He just talked to himself on the phone, except it wasn’t him. It was the guy whose body Yunho is currently occupying. Why? How? 

He only snaps out of it when his phone vibrates in his hand, a plethora of messages asking him where he is from more than just Yeosang. Yunho briefly panics. Why are there so many people asking about where he is and lunch? How many friends did Wooyoung eat lunch with? 

“Excuse me?” he asks a young lady who walks by. “Can you tell me where the library is?” 

  
  


Yeosang notices him first. “There you are!” his roommate exclaims, hopping down one of the steps to the library to greet him. There are two other people behind him. One of them lifts a hand up in greeting to him while the other visibly brightens when Yunho—Wooyoung—approaches them. Yunho knows Yeosang now, but he’s not sure who the other two are. The shorter one rushes forward past Yeosang to throw himself into Yunho’s arms. He nearly loses his balance trying to catch him, and almost does fall over when he plants his lips right on Yunho’s. 

Yunho quite literally pushes him off, and he seems briefly off put before he brightens up again. “Good morning,” he sings. Yunho stares at him, feeling that something about it feels faked.

“San,” Yeosang sighs. “Can you not be disgusting with Wooyoung in front of the rest of us?” 

Yunho looks at San, eyeing him from head to toe. This must be the boyfriend Wooyoung mentioned then. He gulps. Woooyoung’s boyfriend is pretty. He’s really fucking pretty. San frowns at him. “You could at least look like you’re happy to see me,” he pouts. 

Yunho bites his bottom lip. He doesn’t like how sad San sounds about it, not just because he doesn’t like the thought of this poor guy being sad because of him, but because it sounds like he’s a little too used to feeling this way. “I am happy to see you,” he assures him. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been feeling a little off this whole morning.” 

“He’s been super weird all morning,” Yeosang agrees, patting San on the shoulder reassuringly. “What the hell did you guys do yesterday?” 

San shrugs his shoulders. “Nothing unusual. It was a pretty normal party,” he says. 

“Well, Wooyoung’s been fucked in the head since.” Yunho bites his lip, unsure of how to interpret Yeosang’s humor. Is that just a joke? Does Wooyoung have some kind of beef with his roommate? 

“Just feeling a little off,” Yunho laughs nervously although his laughter fades when he meets San’s eyes. He looks concerned, searching Yunho’s face for any sign that he’s feeling off perhaps. “Um. You look really nice today,” he compliments, almost immediately getting the sense that he said something wrong. Or weird. Everyone is silent. Yeosang is looking at him the same way he was this morning, and even San seems surprised by the compliment. Fuck, why? Isn’t this Wooyoung’s boyfriend? 

“Do you see what I mean?” Yeosang finally breaks the silence to point at him. 

“What’s gotten into you?” San squeals, wrapping his arms around Yunho’s waist. He feels his cheeks heat up at the contact. “Is it our anniversary or something? You’re being really nice.” 

“I mean, aren’t I always?” Yunho asks, genuinely curious. 

“No,” Yeosang and the other, still unnamed friend, say at the same time. 

Huh. What kind of person is Wooyoung exactly? “I’m hungry,” he says instead to try and draw their attention to something else. Literally anything else at that point. 

“Me too,” San seconds. They, thankfully, guide Yunho towards one of the campus cafeterias where he quickly learns that, apparently, food is another minefield he has to navigate in front of Wooyoung’s friends because when he orders a noodle dish and asks for extra pickled radish on the side, San remarks, “I thought you hated those.” 

“I hate what?” Yunho asks. 

“The pickled radishes,” San points out, cocking an eyebrow at the question. 

Jesus. Can he not even eat something without being distinctly un-Wooyoung-like? “Oh, haha,” he laughs nervously, turning back to the man working at the counter. “Did I say I wanted extra radishes? I meant I really hate those, so if you could just skip on those that would be great.” 

“Are you feeling okay?” San asks as they wait for their food. Tall, unnamed guy eventually comes over with a hamburger and fries that Yunho suddenly wishes he would have gone for. Surely, there’s nothing about that that Wooyoung supposedly hates, right? “You drank, like, a lot more than usual last night.” 

“No,” Yunho answers truthfully. 

“You should have stayed at your dorm to rest then,” San chides. 

“I tried to tell Yeosang that, but he wouldn’t let me stay.” 

Tall Guy laughs at him, taking bites of his fries as he waits for the two of them. “When has that stopped you before?” he asks. “You know Yeosang. He would have given up if you just refused to get out of bed.” 

Yunho sighs. It would have been that easy, huh? He could have avoided all this if he just stayed in bed? “I guess it stopped me today,” he grumbles. 

“Yeosang holds way too much power over you, Dude,” Tall Guy tells him. 

“Mingi,” San hisses at his friend, and he snaps his mouth shut, looking apologetic. Well, finally Yunho has a name, but he wonders what that whole exchange was about. When both their orders are up, Yunho steps up to grab both their bowls, setting them down on his tray one at a time while he silently mourns the loss of his radishes. “Oh,” San says, eyeing the bowls Yunho carries for them with a puzzled expression. He’s holding his own tray to his chest, fidgeting like he doesn’t know what to do with it now. 

Yunho gets the feeling he’s just done something a bit out of character again. Rather than backtrack, figuring that would be a whole other awkward thing unto itself, he motions to his tray and says, “I got it. Go put yours away.” 

San beams at him and turns to do as he’s told, practically skipping towards one of the racks of trays to put his back. Mingi approaches him then, taking another bite of his fries. “So, you guys worked it out?” he asks. 

Yunho looks at him with a frown on his face. Worked things out? Did that mean Wooyoung is having issues with his relationship? “Uh, yeah,” he answers. “We’re working on it. I’m working on it.” He stares at San’s back as he says it, wondering what could possibly be the problem between them. San is cute, and he seems nice enough. He wonders how long they’ve been dating. It’s pretty common for people to start hitting bumps along the road the longer they go down it, right? 

“Good,” Mingi smiles at him. “I’ve been really worried, you know? San comes to my room a lot to cry about it.” Yunho is mildly alarmed by the statement. Cry about what? “I’m glad though. You’re both my friends, you know. I want you guys to be happy.” 

Yunho nods his head numbly. “Right,” he agrees albeit he has no idea what exactly he’s agreeing to. San returns then, lips still curled up into a smile as he threads one arm through Yunho’s and leans his head against his shoulder. 

  
  
  
  


Throughout the rest of the day Yunho learns at least one thing about Wooyoung, and that’s that his relationship with San is clearly on the rocks, and, if Yunho were going to venture a guess, he would say it seems to be a problem on Wooyoung’s end more than San’s. What exactly is going on or what happened remains nebulous, however. Yunho just knows there is clearly a problem here. 

That point is only further emphasized to him when he returns to the dorm room after spending most of the afternoon and evening with San. Yeosang greets him when he gets back, turning around in his desk chair when Yunho opens the door. “Hey,” he says with a little wave which Yunho returns. “You finally decided to take my advice?” 

“Huh?”

“About San,” Yeosang clarifies. 

“Oh.” He scratches the back of his head because he has no idea what Yeosang is referring to. “Yeah, I guess so.” 

Yeosang nods his head although his lips are pressed together tightly in a sure sign of disapproval. Yunho twiddles his fingers together like a child being scolded by his parents. “Are you sure about this?” he asks. 

“What do you mean?” 

Yeosang turns his chair around fully to face Yunho, his hands neatly folded together on his lap. “You’ve been really affectionate with San all day. If that’s what you want, I’ll support you, but Wooyoung, if you really meant what you said the other day you should do the right thing. You’re not being fair to either San or yourself.” 

Yunho puffs his cheeks out. This whole thing is so frustrating to him now. The other day? What did they talk about? What the hell is up with them? “I think I’m doing the right thing,” he says. 

Yeosang nods his head. “Okay.” 

  
  
  
  


Yunho wasn’t able to get another call into Wooyoung before he fell asleep, but it doesn’t matter because when he wakes up the next morning it’s to a familiar alarm blaring in his ears. Squinting his eyes open, Yunho stares at some of the artwork he has posted on the wall of his bedroom. Some of them are his and some of them are his mother’s work. 

He sits up with a start, fingers threading through his hair as he looks down his body to take stock of himself. His hair isn’t as long as it was yesterday, and he recognizes the clothes he’s in at least. Still, he throws the blankets off of himself, nearly tripping over them when they tangle over his feet and rushes to the bathroom. He breathes a sigh of relief when his own reflection greets him in the mirror. 

“Yunho,” his mom calls from downstairs. “Come have breakfast before you leave!” 

“Coming!” he yells in response as he trudges back towards his room. Had yesterday been a dream? When he grabs his phone from the bed the date says that it’s Tuesday. Not Monday. So he lived through Monday, but did he really live it through someone else? He racks his brain for any sort of memory from yesterday, but the only thing he can remember is Yeosang and San and the obvious drama that was going on in that friend group. Were they just a figment of his imagination? 

He makes his bed and changes into something a little more presentable. When he heads downstairs to eat, his mother is already at the doorway, slipping into a pair of high heels. “You’re leaving already?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” she sighs. “Working a double today, so I won’t see you until tonight. Don’t forget to eat your breakfast.” She points to the kitchen table. Yunho looks over to the plate set out for him, but he doesn’t really feel all that hungry. “I have to go. I’ll see you tonight. Love you, baby.” 

“Have a good day,” Yunho calls as she opens the door. It swings shut behind her, leaving Yunho standing barefoot in the living room. Still feeling a little off, he wanders into the kitchen to look down at the breakfast his mom set out for him. A piece of toast smeared with his favorite strawberry jam, an egg, and sausage link. He picks up the toast to take a bite of it before setting it back down on the plate. It tastes like ash in his mouth, and he’s quick to abandon it in favor of getting ready. 

He puts on a pair of socks and washes his face. It’s enough to take his mind off the fact that he doesn’t have any real memories of the previous day, but once he’s finished with all that, he finds himself stewing over it as he sits on the couch. Waiting. 

The door opens again at 9—earlier than usual—and Yunho looks up when Hongjoong pokes his head inside. “Hey,” the elder says when he spots Yunho easily. “You’re awake this time.” 

“Yeah,” Yunho agrees. 

Hongjoong toes off his shoes and trots over to Yunho. “How are you feeling today?” he asks. 

Yunho leans himself against the armrest of the couch, taking a moment to think about his answer. “Confused,” he finally settles on. Concerned, Hongjoong takes a seat beside him. 

“Why?” he asks. 

Yunho stares down at his lap, nervous to voice the truth, but Hongjoong has always been there for him. He’s sure he would be understanding even now. “I don’t—I can’t remember what happened yesterday,” he says. 

Hongjoong raises his eyebrows at the statement. “You don’t remember yesterday?” 

“Not really,” Yunho admits. “Do you know what happened yesterday?” 

The elder shakes his head. “I came to pick you up, but you were in an absolute panic,” he recalls. “You wouldn’t tell me what was wrong though, just kept screaming that you weren’t going anywhere. I figured you just needed to be on your own, so I left.” 

Yunho frowns. He was in a panic? He was _screaming_? Even during his worst episodes he wouldn’t act like that. Had it been Wooyoung then? He shakes it off. That’s a silly thought. “I don’t remember,” he says in a strained voice. 

Worried, Hongjoong reaches out to place his hand over Yunho’s. “Do you want to go to the doctor or something? That doesn’t sound good, Yunho,” he says. 

“I know. I think it was just a one off, though. I feel better today.” 

“You sure?” Although Yunho nods his head, Hongjoong remains unconvinced. “Did you eat breakfast?” 

Crap. Yunho’s eyes travel towards the kitchen, and he grimaces. “I tried,” he says because committing to an outright lie wouldn’t do him any favors at this point. Hongjoong follows his gaze towards the kitchen, pushing himself off the couch to go investigate. He sighs when he sees the uneaten food, and Yunho turns away when he looks over his shoulder at him. 

“Should I pack it up for you?” he asks. 

Yunho shrugs his shoulders, a bit indifferent. “Sure, I’ll probably eat it eventually.” 

He waits patiently as Hongjoong putters around his kitchen, packing up his leftover breakfast in a tupperware container for him. He pulls out his phone while he waits for his best friend, surfing the internet for a moment before a thought suddenly crosses his mind. Anxiously, he pulls up his call history. He sees a bunch of missed calls from Hongjoong, a couple from Seonghwa and just one from Jongho. Between a missed call from Seonghwa and Hongjoong, however, he sees an unfamiliar phone number that was picked up. 

Yunho’s breath hitches. Is that...Wooyoung’s number? From when Yunho called him? He fumbles with his phone when he accidentally presses down on the number, a call screen coming up. He makes a noise of distress in the back of his throat, frantically tapping at the end call button before Wooyoung can pick up. 

“Everything okay?” Hongjoong calls from the kitchen, apparently having heard his distress. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Yunho says back, nearly jumping out of his skin when his phone vibrates. It’s a text message. From the number he just accidentally called. 

**[ 9:13 ]**   
_Dude._ _  
__Dont call me lets jus pretend yesterday didnt happen_

Yunho stares at the message, unsure of how he feels. It’s not that he blames Wooyoung or doesn’t understand the sentiment, but it feels oddly belligerent. 

**[ 9:13 ]** **  
** _ Sry. It was an accident_

He doesn’t receive an answer from Wooyoung, but he’s not all that surprised. If nothing else that means that yesterday wasn’t a dream, right? He really spent a day in someone else’s body. Hongjoong returns to the living room with his breakfast all neatly packed for him while Yunho sits hunched over, his head in his hands. “You okay?” he asks, picking his backpack off the floor to place on the couch before he neatly packs Yunho’s leftovers inside for later. 

“I’m fine,” Yunho says. “Um, do you want to get a coffee before school. I’ll buy,” he offers. 

Hongjoong shrugs his shoulders. “Sure. Any reason why you’re offering to pay?” 

“Consider it an apology for my behavior yesterday,” Yunho says. “I didn’t mean to worry you.” 

“Okay,” Hongjoong agrees with a smile, patting Yunho on the shoulder once. “But don’t worry about yesterday. Things happen. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.” Yunho relaxes into his seat and smiles back at Hongjoong. Not for the first time, he’s infinitely grateful to have a friend like Hongjoong. 

  
  
  
  


Things return back to normal for a week, and if not for the text message still sitting on his phone, Yunho might have been able to completely forget about that one day. He almost does. Wooyoung’s number still shows up when he brings up his recent texts, but Yunho barely notices it. 

Then a little over a week later it happens again, only he wakes with a start this time because the room to the dorm slams open. 

“Jung Wooyoung,” Yeosang’s deep voice rings through the dorm. “You don’t get to sleep right now. _Get up!_ ” 

Yunho flails, disoriented and confused as he turns around in his blanket, trying to fight his way out of it. “What?” he drawls. “What’s going on? What happened?” 

The lights flick on, and Yunho groans, shielding his eyes with his arm as he finally frees himself from his blanket prison. With a groan, he falls back onto the bed. Shit. Why is this happening again? Wooyoung said to forget about it, and Yunho had, so why was he back here again? Yeosang marches forward to tear the blankets away from Yunho’s body. “What the hell, dude? I thought you said you were trying with San!” 

Yunho scrubs his face with his hands. He can’t comprehend what’s going on. He fell asleep after a pretty decent day. Classes had been fine, Yunho had spent a good chunk of time in one of the art studios on campus, and then they’d all gotten dinner together. All in all, Yunho had a good day. His mood hadn’t dipped once, and he’d gone to bed in an overall good mood. 

Waking up in the middle of the night to Yeosang yelling at him is an unpleasant experience to say the least. “What are you talking about?” he groans. “Why are you getting back at…” Yunho finally lowers his arms to search for his phone. Or Wooyoung’s phone. “What time is it?”

“You and San,” Yeosang stresses. “And I was out studying at the library. Stop trying to change the subject. What the hell are you doing?” 

“I don’t,” Yunho struggles with his words. “What am I doing?” he finally asks. 

“You tell me,” Yeosang shoots back. “You tell me why San is over at Mingi’s dorm crying his eyes out because you can’t be fucked to have an actual conversation with him?” Yunho swallows back a groan. “I told you that if you wanted things to work out with him you needed to try, but I warned you! If you couldn’t do it you needed to break up with him. I know that we’re all friends, and you’re worried about ruining this. I know that you love San just maybe not the way he wants, but you need to figure it out because you’re just hurting him right now, and you’re not exactly happy either.” 

“Okay, just—” Yunho presses his palm against his forehead and squeezes his eyes shut. “I’ll fix it, okay?” 

“Don’t fix it if it’s not what’s going to help!” Yeosang scolds him, smacking Yunho on the arm for good measure. “You need to stop being scared that this is going to ruin our friend group. Sure, it’ll be weird at first, but San is a big boy and so are you.” 

“No, no,” Yunho denies quickly because the _last_ thing he’s going to do in Wooyoung’s body is break up with his boyfriend. He doesn’t know what kind of mess they’re in. He doesn’t really care, but he’s not going to make an even bigger mess. He can at least commit to that. “I’ll...figure it out, okay?” 

“You better. You’re just hurting him more at this rate,” Yeosang says harshly. “God, how did it get like this? Why’d you suddenly catch feelings for someone else?” 

Yunho lowers his hand to stare at him. What? 

_What?_

  
  
  
  


This is only the second time, but Yunho thinks he’ll follow the same rules as the last time. He’ll be stuck here for a day, and in the meantime he should probably do his best to blend in and not make a mess of the whole situation. Of course, it doesn’t exactly help that he seems to have just been tossed into the middle of a terrible mess that he doesn’t know if he can fix. He doesn’t know if he _should_ fix. 

He tries to compile what little information he’s been able to gather. 

  1. San is upset with Wooyoung.   
Why exactly? It sounds like a lack of communication. 
  2. Wooyoung likes someone else.  
Who? And for how long? 
  3. Wooyoung is scared to break up with San.  
Why? Because it would ruin their friend dynamic? 



It’s not much to work off of, but it’s all Yunho’s got. He needs Wooyoung to clarify what the hell is going on. 

**[ 8:32 ]**   
_ What kind of coffee does San like? _

**[ 8:40 ]**   
_ Why r u asking?  _ _  
_ _ Literally why is this happening again? _

Yunho wants to scream at the phone that he’s asking because he’s trying to fix the mess Wooyoung’s made of his relationship. Instead he simply sends a short text demanding Wooyoung to just tell him and to ask what his first class on Wednesdays is. 

He catches San right before his 9AM class, managing to camp right outside the lecture hall before San arrives. When San finally does make it to the lecture hall, he pauses when he sees Yunho standing outside the door, and Yunho wonders what exactly happened between the two of them because San immediately turns his head away and tries to barrel past him into the lecture hall. Before he can make it past him, however, Yunho seizes him by the elbow to stop him. 

San tenses up as he turns to stare at him. Yunho hesitates, expecting San to say something when his lips part, but his boyfriend—he means _Wooyoung’s_ boyfriend—remains silent. “Uh, here,” Yunho finally offers. He moves his hand down from San’s elbow to his wrist, placing the paper coffee cup in San’s hand. San stares at it in confusion. “It’s a caramel macchiato,” Yunho tells him. “Your favorite.” 

He releases his hold on San’s wrist and pulls away. For a moment, San stares at the coffee in his hand with a puzzled expression before he finally lifts his gaze up to meet Yunho’s. “Thank...you?” he says with clear uncertainty. 

“I wanted to apologize,” Yunho says although he has no clue what he’s apologizing for. For Wooyoung? Probably. “I feel bad about the other day.” It’s vague enough that San seems to understand. 

“It’s okay,” he replies. “Every couple goes through some rough patches, right?” 

Yunho studies San for a moment, wishing he knew what the hell was going on. Maybe then he could actually figure out what San was thinking. Did he want to work things out with Wooyoung or was he kind of over it? Did he know about this other person Wooyoung supposedly liked? What San knows or how he feels about it remains elusive to Yunho. He just knows that Wooyoung seems to have upset him. Greatly. 

“Yeah, I know, and I’m really sorry,” he apologizes again. “I’ll do better from now on, okay?” He means it in a weird way. San has a boyfriend, and Yunho is kind of playing that role for him even though he’s not San’s boyfriend. He’s just in his body. Still, he definitely means it. He wants it to work for them. And by them he means Wooyoung and San. Definitely them. 

San smiles at him, reaching up with his free hand so he’s grasping the cup of coffee in both his hands, and Yunho’s breath hitches as his heart beat picks up. “Thanks,” he says more sincerely this time.Yunho lifts his hand up to see San off when he turns to head into his lecture hall, but he hesitates before facing Yunho again. “Hey, Wooyoung. You still love me, right? Because I still really love you.” 

Yunho feels his mouth go dry at the question. He feels his heart flutter and his stomach twists up in knots. It’s a wholly pleasant feeling that somehow manages to leave a bitter taste in his mouth because San isn’t really his boyfriend. He isn’t actually talking to Yunho. He’s talking to Wooyoung. Yunho feels terrible for reacting the way he does, but he can’t help himself. It really sounds like Yunho is saying that he loves him even if he doesn’t actually know who he’s talking to. 

“Of course I do,” he says, half meaning it and half just thinking it’s what Wooyoung would or, at least, should say. “I’m sorry that I ever made you think otherwise.” 

Still smiling, San takes a sip of the caramel macchiato and, though he doesn’t explicitly say anything, Yunho feels like it’s an acceptance of his apology. “We should probably actually sit down and talk about this,” he says to which Yunho can definitely agree. Just preferably not while he’s here. San should definitely have this talk to Wooyoung and not him. “But for today, I’ll accept this truce.” He lifts the cup up, and Yunho breathes a little sigh of relief. 

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” 

Yunho doesn’t know if it’s really a good idea or not. Yeosang seems to be of the belief that there is nothing Wooyoung can do to make it better than to break it off. Yunho doesn’t know that he really has the judgement to call this one considering he knows next to nothing about the person whose body he inhabits and how he feels about his boyfriend. 

“We can work things out,” Yunho suggests, voice thick with emotion. He’s not sure who he’s trying to speak as, Wooyoung or himself? 

San smiles although the expression is far from happy. “I don’t understand you sometimes,” he admits. “Sometimes I really think you’re with me, and we can make this work, but other times—” he holds his tongue and sighs. “I really like you, and I want this to work,” he says in a watery voice that makes Yunho’s chest tighten. 

“I like you too,” he says truthfully and he means it. He doesn’t really know San. He’s only met the guy twice, but he kind of really means it from the bottom of his heart. San is cute and nice, and Yunho has no idea why Wooyoung doesn’t like him nearly as much as he should. “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I’ll work on it,” he promises even though he has no idea how much Wooyoung intends to actually do that. 

Being in Wooyoung’s body for a day feels about as surreal as the first time. Only it’s so much more real than the first time, especially when Yunho is dealing with his relationship problems on top of not knowing this is all real. This is a real person with a real life and his own real problems, and Yunho frankly feels out of place trying to impede on him even if he has no choice. 

Still, he feels like he’s telling the truth oddly enough when he says that he likes San and that he wants to make this work between them. Whatever this is. 

  
  
  
  


The first thing he does the next morning is call Wooyoung. He’s slow to answer, and Yunho honestly has to call him three times while glancing nervously at the clock in the living room because Hongjoong will be here any second and he doesn’t want to have to explain himself—who he’s calling and why—when Wooyoung finally picks up. His voice is groggy from sleep, and he sounds so _tired_. 

“It’s me,” Yunho says, not thinking that he needs to elaborate more than that. 

There’s a pause on the other end. “Why are you calling me?” Wooyoung asks after a beat of silence. 

“We need to talk,” Yunho tells him. 

“Uh, no we don’t.” Wooyoung sounds more awake now, and Yunho can imagine him sitting up in his bed in the dorm. Is Yeosang there with him? Yunho can already picture the place in his mind. “What would we need to talk about?” 

“I need to know what’s up with you and San.” 

That finally sparks a real reaction from him. “That’s private,” he hisses into Yunho’s ear, and normally he would back down. Normally he would hang his head low and apologize for intruding, but not today. Not about this. It’s too important. “It literally has nothing to do with you.” 

“I would say I agree with you,” Yunho tells him, “But I’ve lived as you twice now, and I have no reason to believe it _won’t_ happen again. Clearly something is going on with you guys, and it’s affecting everyone in your friend group. If you want me to act accordingly, I need to know what’s going on there. Do you like San? Or do you want to break up with him? Because I can’t tell, so I can’t help whenever this shit inevitably happens.” 

Wooyoung is silent for a moment, probably thinking over Yunho’s argument before ultimately concluding that he kind of has a point because he releases a frustrated breath. “Fine,” he agrees because as much as he doesn’t want to open up to Yunho nor does he think he really should, he has a point. Yunho might just make the whole thing messier every time they switch. “Just....don’t fucking judge me, okay?” 

Yunho is a bit taken aback by his demand. “I’m not asking because I’m going to judge you,” he assures Wooyoung. “I’m asking because I’m trying to help. Or at least not make things worse.” 

“I just can’t believe I’m about to tell a stranger all about my fucked up relationship.” Wooyoung laughs humorlessly as Yunho picks up on the sound of shuffling on the other side. “Hold up a sec. I’m going to go somewhere else. More private.” 

“Okay,” Yunho agrees while mentally putting together a list of what little information he knows. He decides it’s a good enough starting point with Wooyoung. “You don’t actually like San?” he begins by asking. 

“I like San, Wooyoung denies, his voice snappish. Yunho remains quiet although he raises his eyebrows at Wooyoung’s statement. It’s a blatant lie. “I mean that I like him just fine. He’s a good friend.”

“But he’s not a good boyfriend?” 

Wooyoung bites down on his tongue. “He’s a perfectly fine boyfriend,” he corrects. 

“But you like someone else, don't you?” 

Wooyoung’s breath hitches on the other end at the accusation, clearly caught off guard. Whether it’s because Yunho just casually mentioned it or because he hadn’t expected Yunho to know isn’t quite clear either. “I—how did you know that?” 

“Yeosang seemed pretty distressed by it,” Yunho tells him. “He thinks you should break up with San, you know? You don’t like him anymore which isn’t fair to you because you shouldn’t be in a relationship you don’t want, but also sucks for him because well…” San still seemed very much in love with his boyfriend. 

“I know,” Wooyoung says harshly before he groans. “Sorry. Sorry, I’m not angry at you. I’m just—God, where do I even begin?”

Yunho waits patiently for Wooyoung to say something, anything, but when it becomes clear that he’s reluctant to start—or maybe he just doesn’t know where to begin—Yunho suggests, “Well, why not start from the beginning? How did you guys meet?” 

“How did we meet?” Wooyoung repeats like he’s caught off guard by the question. He also has a wistful note to his voice though, like he’s remembering something pleasant. Yunho hums in encouragement. There’s a small pause on Wooyoung’s end before he finally answers, “We met freshman year. At orientation. We were in the same group, and we just....we hit it off with each other immediately. He asked me out later that fall.” 

“Oh, so he asked you out,” Yunho remarks, not really all that surprised. He’s gotten the impression that San is a bit more invested in the relationship. “What made you decide to tell him yes? Did you like him back then too?” 

Wooyoung sighs. His voice echoes a bit now, and Yunho wonders where he must be now. “I like San. I’ve always liked him. He’s attractive and funny and we get along so well. We always have. Of course I like him. He’s just…” Wooyoung struggles for a moment, trying to find the right words to express himself, and Yunho feels sorry for him. He hadn’t really known what to make of Wooyoung up until this point. He seemed rude and kind of mean. It didn’t help that his friends’ seemed to be regularly angry or frustrated by his behavior, particularly when it came to his boyfriend, but Yunho thinks he can sympathize with him now. 

He’s not trying to be an asshole. He’s trying to be diplomatic, and Yunho can only imagine that he must be in a rough spot right now. 

“I didn’t know that he liked me this much,” Wooyoung admits. “I agreed to go out with him because I liked him, and he’s fun to hang out with. And I thought, maybe, that it would help me get over my old crush.” Wooyoung laughs at himself, and Yunho’s heart twists at the sound. “He was a hot guy who wanted to go out with me. I thought it would be stupid to say no, but now it’s been three years and nothing has changed for me. I still have a stupid crush on Yeosang, and San is more like my best friend than my boyfriend.” 

Yunho freezes up at his confession because what? _What?_ “You like Yeosang?” he blurts out because it was really the only thing he could focus on. 

Wooyoung curses, and there’s a crash like he’s fallen over. “Listen,” his voice finally comes back over the line. “Just forget what you heard, okay? I didn’t mean to tell you that.” 

Yunho doesn’t so much ignore him as he simply can’t pay attention to anything beyond the fact that the person Wooyoung really likes, the one Yeosang had briefly mentioned in passing, is just Yeosang himself. “Does he know?” Yunho asks curiously. He would think no. Yeosang seemed to be under the impression that Wooyoung was in love with someone else completely, but then he thinks back to that moment in the campus cafeteria when Mingi had joked about Wooyoung being wrapped around Yeosang’s finger. San had been obviously displeased. Did  _ he _ know? 

Wooyoung makes a pained noise like he doesn’t want to answer. Like doing so would physically hurt him, but he’s already said too much really. What’s one more thing? “It’s complicated,” he says. “Everyone kind of knows except for him.” He’s not exactly been subtle about it. “But it’s not like Yeosang doesn’t—or at least shouldn’t—know either.” 

Yunho takes in a deep breath. “What do you mean he should know?” 

“Well,” Wooyoung makes another wounded noise. “You see, Yeosang and I have quite a storied history. We’ve known each other forever almost. I’ve liked him, I swear, almost as long as I’ve known him. For me it’s always been him.” 

“Then, why aren’t you going out with him?” Yunho asks. It’s the obvious question, of course. 

Wooyoung laughs, short and bitter. “You’ve met him. Do I seem like his type?” 

Yunho is at a loss for words. Yes, he’s met Yeosang before, but it was only a grand total of two times. It would be a great disservice for him to say that he knows Wooyoung’s roommate. He certainly doesn’t know him well enough to know what his type is. “I mean, you guys are friends, right? You’re roommates.” 

“I mean, sure, but do you want to fuck your best friend?” 

Yunho blinks at the question. He’s briefly assaulted by an image of Hongjoong in nothing but his underwear when they’d gone to a department store together to look for a suit for homecoming and for some reason had decided that sharing one dressing room was fine. He shudders at the memory. “No,” he immediately answers. 

Wooyoung sighs. “Right? It just sucks because I do.” 

Yunho takes a moment to process his words. “But he doesn’t know that you want to?” he asks for clarification, confused because hadn’t Wooyoung just said Yeosang should know? “Or he does?” 

“He knows that I _did_ ,” Wooyoung corrects before releasing a heavy breath. “I tried to ask him out in high school. He rejected me. I’ve been trying to get over it since.” 

“But you haven’t,” Yunho notes. 

“I thought I did,” Wooyoung defends, his voice strained. He sounds upset—with himself or with Yunho is unclear. “I was really into San for a minute there. I still really like him. I just…” 

“Don’t love him?” Yunho suggests.

“I just don’t want to make out with him and shit, you know?” Wooyoung puts it a bit more crudely. “Like I want to hang out with him and have fun and go to parties and all that, but I kind of want to kiss Yeosang instead and...I don’t know what to do.” He’s quiet for a minute, and Yunho doesn’t say anything either, still digesting his words, awed at the predicament Wooyoung seems to have caught himself up in. “I know that I’m not exactly being nice about this whole thing,” Wooyoung continues when Yunho doesn’t say anything. “I know everyone’s mad at me because of how I’m handling it, but I’m honestly trying my best I just don’t know what to _do_.” 

“I believe you,” Yunho tells him, feeling like he needs to tell Wooyoung something, and that’s about the only thing he can muster. 

It seems to be enough because Wooyoung makes a relieved noise. “Thanks, dude. I think I needed to hear that from someone considering how pissed my friends are at me.” 

It’s quiet between the two of them again before Yunho finally asks, “What are you going to do then?” 

“I don’t know,” Wooyoung says. “I should probably—I should break up with San. I know I should. It’s just...really hard to. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“I think you don’t have a choice if he likes you that much,” Yunho tells him to which Wooyoung makes a noise of agreement. He presses his lips together in a thin line when a thought crosses his mind, but he hesitates to voice it out loud. With the awkward silence between them quickly growing, Yunho decides to give it a shot. “I could do it for you,” he suggests, putting the option out there before he can stop himself. 

Wooyoung is uncharacteristically silent after Yunho voices his suggestion, and he immediately tries to walk it back in response. “I mean, I’m not trying to say that’s what you should do—or I guess I mean we—I just thought, you know, if you really needed help that I could do it for you. The next time we switch or something.” 

“No,” Wooyoung turns him down. “No, I should probably—how do you know we’ll even switch again?” he asks. 

Yunho stutters, “I mean, I don’t know. It just...I mean, it’s happened twice now, and we don’t know why. I guess I just thought it wouldn’t be too far out there to think that it might happen again.” 

“But, if we did, you would be willing to do that?” 

Yunho licks his chapped lips. “I mean, sure. It would be weird, and maybe not the fairest thing to do, but if—if you really can’t, I could help you. I guess.” 

“I should really do it myself,” Wooyoung tells him. Yunho nods his head in agreement even though Wooyoung can’t see him do it. “But I’ll think about it. In case I really don’t have another option.” 

“Okay,” Yunho agrees. “Whatever you need. I’m here for you.” 

“Thanks, dude. I’ll let you know how it goes.” 

  
  
  
  


Yunho thinks that it must not be going well, in every sense of the word, when, two weeks later, Wooyoung sends him a very distressed text message asking for advice late at night.

**[ 12:10 ]** **  
** _ Dude, help me. Ive tried like 3 times now and i cant do it. _

Yunho stares at the message on his phone, holding it above his face as he settles back into his pillows. He should have gone to sleep hours ago, but he’s still up and wide awake when Wooyoung texts him. He looks over to where he has his laptop propped up on a pillow next to him, and he wrinkles his nose up into a grimace. He has San’s social media profile pulled up on it, and he’d been going through his pictures and posts for hours now. 

Yeah. None of this is going well. For either of them. 

They haven’t switched since the last time, so Yunho really can’t offer much else other than some quiet encouragement. He tries to give him some tips or advice, but they all sound meaningless and superficial even to his own ears. He’s never dated anyone, so he’s never had to break up with anyone. He just doesn’t know what advice he can really give Wooyoung beyond the generic stuff like  _ don’t do it over text _ or  _ maybe you should take San out somewhere nice as an apology, but not too nice that he’ll think it’s something good_. Yunho doesn’t know. Wooyoung had just sent a bunch of question marks back at him after that last suggestion. 

Maybe it’s Wooyoung’s desperation that triggers it or something, but Yunho wakes up the next day in his body. He only wakes up because Yeosang is puttering around the room, opening drawers and slamming them shut with more force than is strictly necessary. Yunho peeks over the blankets to look at him, but Yeosang doesn’t even acknowledge him other than to give him a dirty look before he marches out of the room without so much as a word. 

Well, that was definitely a bad sign. 

He receives a text message from his phone later that morning. 

**[ 11:32 ]** **  
** _ listen, i hate to ask u but could u do this?  _ _  
_ _ u kno, break up with san like u offered last time? _

Yunho doesn’t bother trying to hold this conversation over text, choosing to call Wooyoung instead. “What happened?” he asks when Wooyoung picks up with a little squeak. 

“Nothing!” he denies, and it’s obvious to Yunho that he’s lying. “I just...this is a lot harder than I thought it would be, so could you do it? I mean, it’s not like it’s that bad, right? You’re in my body so it’s not like anyone will really know I asked someone else to break up with him, right?” 

“Something happened,” Yunho says. 

Sighing, Wooyoung admits defeat. “We had an argument a few days ago,” he says. “San, like, said if I didn’t like him I should just break up with him already.” 

Yunho resists the urge to start yelling at Wooyoung. Could he have asked for an easier set up? “But you didn’t do it?” he asks, completely baffled by Wooyoung’s decision.

“I just!” Wooyoung halts. “That’s not how I want to break up with him. When we’re fighting and yelling at each other. That just...didn’t seem right. So I told him that I didn’t want to break up with him.” Sighing, Yunho supposes he can at least give Wooyoung that. “Listen, I know it’s not exactly the right thing to do, but can you please do this for me? I just can’t fucking do it. I’m so scared he’ll hate me.” 

The corner of Yunho’s mouth twitches because he thinks Wooyoung’s fear is kind of funny. “Just because I do it doesn’t mean he  _ won’t _ hate you after.” 

“God, you’re right.” Wooyoung sounds defeated, and Yunho honestly feels kind of sorry for him. “What am I doing?” 

Yunho stares down at the thin sheets covering his legs. “I’ll do what I can,” he tells Wooyoung. “Just maybe give him some space starting tomorrow. It’s not like I know the guy that well. He might just hate you after this.” 

Wooyoung laughs at his words although he sounds more nervous than anything. “Yeah, imagine if I’m the one person San fucking hates. That would be an accomplishment.” 

“I’ll let him down gently,” Yunho promises. “But I can’t promise you more than that.” 

“Well, it’s more than I probably deserve.” 

  
  
  
  


Wooyoung is only off the phone for maybe ten minutes when someone burst through the door to Yunho’s room. He jumps at the sudden noise, shrieking out in panic as he falls off the bed. “You aren’t up yet?” the person asks as Wooyoung slowly picks himself up. 

“I’m…” Wooyoung recognizes the guy from the last couple of times, but he takes a second to recall the name. Hongjoong, Wooyoung finally recalls. “I’m not feeling so good,” he says. It worked the last couple of times, so Wooyoung figures that he’ll just default to the normal. 

Unfortunately for him, Hongjoong doesn’t seem as willing to entertain him as he usually does. He narrows his eyes at Wooyoung and gives him a once over from head to toe. “You look fine to me,” he remarks. 

“Well, I’m not sick,” Wooyoung excuses. “I just...don’t really feel like myself today. You know what I mean?” 

Hongjoong marches forward, reaching out to grab Wooyoung by the wrist. “Listen, Yunho. I know you have some days where things are a struggle, and it’s hard for you, but I can’t help if you just shut me out. You need to get out of the house, being cooped up in here isn’t good for you either.” 

Wooyoung squeals when Hongjoong pulls him out of the room, out of the safety of Yunho’s room. Truthfully, Wooyoung hasn’t adventured much past his room. He  _ likes _ staying in Yunho’s room. Things are easier that way. He doesn’t have to worry about dealing with anyone, and he can just sit here and worry about whatever the fuck Yunho is doing in his body. “No, I think I  _ really _ prefer to stay here,” he insists, digging his heels into the carpet to try and stop Hongjoong. 

“It’s been three days!” Hongjoong exclaims, loud enough that Wooyoung stops resisting him to just blink and stare. “You won’t even tell me what’s wrong. I came to pick you up for your appointment two days ago, and you had your mom tell me you weren’t home? I know you were home, Yunho.” 

Wooyoung falters, allowing Hongjoong to drag him past the threshold of his room. “Appointment?” he sputters out. “What appointment?” 

Hongjoong frowns at him. “Your Tuesday appointments,” he reminds him, one eyebrow raised in concern. “You know, the same ones you’ve been going to for damn near five years now.” 

“Oh.” Wooyoung nods his head, trying—and probably failing—to play along. “Right. Those appointments.” 

Hongjoong sighs and presses his fists into his hips. “What is up with you lately? I get it. You don’t always want to talk to me, and I respect that, but you’ve literally almost never missed one of your therapy appointments. At least not without a good reason.” Wooyoung scrubs his face with his hands. What the hell is going on? What is Hongjoong blabbering away about? “Honestly, if you don’t want to go to classes today that’s fine, but please, just please leave the house for me?” 

He widens his eyes, lips pulling down into a pout that’s honestly rather cute. Wooyoung feels his resolve and discomfort quickly crumbling, and he can definitely see why this guy is Yunho’s best friend. “I—okay, yeah,” Wooyoung stutters out because he doesn’t see himself being able to dodge this guy much longer. “Sure we can do that.” 

Hongjoong positively beams at him, and Wooyoung shifts back in discomfort. “Great, I’ll call the others. Maybe we can get brunch or something.” 

Wooyoung licks his lips and tries his best to hide his own anxiety. Wait, what others? 

  
  
  
  


Brunch, as a general rule, is kind of stupid in Wooyoung’s opinion. San would beg to differ. He loves brunch, but in Wooyoung’s opinion, it’s just a late breakfast because literally no one has ever ordered from the lunch part of the menu during brunch. Looking around at the dishes everyone has opted for before finally settling on his own plate of pancakes, he mentally pens himself in for another win against San. 

Shit. 

How’s it going anyways? Wooyoung kind of wants to call Yunho and ask about it. Has he already done it? Is everything okay? What if they’re in the middle of their break up—or, like, his break up, he supposes—when he calls? Maybe he should just not call right now, or even think about it. 

Easier said than done though. His thoughts seem totally consumed by it until he’s pulled from the invasive scenarios when a notebook is shoved in his face. Wooyoung pulls back to stare down at it apprehensively before his eyes eventually trail up to the person holding it. He has no clue who this is. He’s never met any of Yunho’s friends outside of the couple of times Hongjoong tried to coax him out of the house and Wooyoung had put his over dramatic acting to good use to get him off his back. 

This guy is sitting next to Hongjoong, and they seem close if the way they huddled over one menu was any indication. Wooyoung wonders how close Yunho is to this guy or, for the matter, the guy sitting next to him. He barely spoke three words to Wooyoung, and when he had glanced over to him and his menu earlier, he had hunched over it and shot Wooyoung suspicious looks. 

“Uh,” Wooyoung takes the notebook because it’s clearly being offered to him although he has no idea what it’s for. 

“I got the notes for your art history class from another student,” he explains while Wooyoung stares down at the notebook. The only thought he can even really manage is _art history?_ What the hell did Yunho major in again? 

“Thanks,” he says, filing it away in his backpack. He makes a mental note that he should probably tell Yunho about that, although he’s sure he’ll forget. Brunch passes by uneventfully for the most part. Wooyoung gets by just not saying much of anything, and going out of his way not to address anyone by name. He does pick up on who’s who as they converse with each other though. The kid next to him is Jongho, and the one beside Hongjoong is Seonghwa, but Wooyoung still isn’t really sure how close they are with each other. 

They’re winding down their brunch when Seonghwa and Hongjoong both announce that they have to go. “Can’t miss this seminar,” Hongjoong explains when Wooyoung watches him get up with an alarmed expression on his face. What the hell happened to just ditching for today? “I’ll come get you after class though.” Then he looks at Jongho sitting next to Wooyoung. He doesn’t say anything, but Wooyoung can clearly tell that he’s conveying  _ something _ to Jongho. 

“I got it,” Jongho says, holding his hands up before draping one arm over Wooyoung’s shoulder. “Leave it to me.” Wooyoung watches in mild distress as half the group suddenly departs, leaving him alone with Jongho. “Come on,” Jongho says as he grabs Wooyoung by the wrist and pulls him out of the booth they’ve been sitting in. 

Wooyoung reluctantly allows himself to be pulled although he’s definitely uncomfortable as he allows Jongho to lead him out of the restaurant. “Where are we going?” he asks. 

Great. It’s just the two of them now. They’ll have to, like, talk to socialize, right? Theoretically, that’s easy enough for Wooyoung. Realistically, Yunho’s friends are kind of off-putting. They act like they’re walking on eggshells around him, and Wooyoung doesn’t know what to make of that. 

“Let’s go get a coffee,” Jongho suggests, pulling Wooyoung down the street towards a coffee shop. “We can just sit and talk for a bit, or whatever you want to do.” He turns his head to peek up at Wooyoung. “You’re feeling better, right?” 

Wooyoung purses his lips together, trying to carefully think over his next words. Honestly, though, his mind is pretty blank. “Great,” he answers because he thinks it’ll get this kid off his back. “It’s just been, you know, the usual.” 

Jongho squints at him as he pulls open the door of the coffee shop to let Wooyoung enter first. “The usual?” he repeats. 

“Yeah, you know,” Wooyoung says vaguely. It’s whatever the fuck usually bothers Yunho or whatever since this seems to be a pretty typical occurrence. 

Jongho raises both his eyebrows at him, but he doesn’t seem too suspicious. Instead he shoves Wooyoung in the direction of the dining area and tells him to go sit while he gets them something to drink. Wooyoung protests because, while he normally wouldn’t say no to free coffee, he feels particularly bad accepting it in this case. 

“Wait,” he protests, digging through Yunho’s backpack. He must keep his wallet in here right? He curses as other items fall out of his backpack in the process, but he does finally find a wallet. He pulls it out, sifting through the small handful of cards Yunho has before pulling out the one that looks like a debit card. “Here,” he hands the card to Jongho who presses his lips into a thin line but accepts it. 

“Go sit. I’ll order for us,” he says. 

Wooyoung nods, bending down to gather up the fallen notebooks before he scurries off to find a seat. He sits down in a corner that’s mostly unoccupied. He shoves the notebook Seonghwa had given to him back into his backpack, but pauses when he touches the second one. It’s not like a typical spiral notebook. Curiously, Wooyoung lifts it up to take a peek inside, blinking when he’s met with blank paper rather than notebook. 

Lips pulling down into a frown, Wooyoung takes a brief glance around to make sure that no one is looking, feeling like he’s about to commit a crime. Turning back down to what he now knows is a sketchbook, he flips open to a random page, eyes widening as he ogles the sketch on it. It’s just a floral pattern, but the way it takes up the whole page makes it all the more mesmerizing. It’s not colored, just a pencil sketch, but based on a cursory glance of some of the other works, all of these seem like just simple pencil sketches. 

So Yunho is an artist? Is it just a passing hobby or is this what Yunho studies? Seonghwa said something about an art history class earlier. He flips through more of Yunho’s drawings, impressed by his skills. And then he stumbles across the first portrait that he sees, and it gives him pause for a myriad of reasons. 

Part of it is because he hasn’t seen one up until this point. Yunho’s notebook seems to exclusively draw objects or patterns, not people. The other part—the part that really surprises him—is that the face on the paper is familiar to him. 

Is that that—is that San? 

He startles from his thoughts when Jongho slips into the seat in front of him with two cups, one of which he sets in front of Wooyoung. Wooyoung stares at, what he guesses is, a strawberry smoothie. He’s a little disappointed. Coffee of some sort would have been better. He doesn’t notice how Jongho stares at Yunho’s sketchpad. 

“So when you say the usual, do you mean the nightmares or this crush you don’t want to tell us about?” 

Wooyoung lifts his gaze up from the strawberry smoothie to look at Jongho. He’s quick to notice Jongho’s gaze, and he looks down at the sketchpad before quickly flipping it shut. He clears his throat as he shoves the sketchpad back into the backpack. 

“I wanted coffee,” he says, trying to change the subject. 

Jongho blinks at his request, but Wooyoung isn’t sure if it’s because of his words or his very obvious attempt to change the subject. “You hate coffee though,” he says.

“No, I don’t,” Wooyoung denies. “You just think that I do.” 

Jongho makes a face at his answer. “Alright, just say you don’t want to talk about your crush,” he grumbles. 

Wooyoung’s jaw clenches as he glances towards the backpack. It can’t be, can it? “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he denies. 

“Sure. It’s not like you draw the same dude over and over again,” Jongho snorts, taking a sip of his own drink that, from the smell of it, definitely has coffee in it. 

Impulsively, Wooyoung swipes his drink when he places it back down, grinning at the noise of protest. “Why?” he asks, taking a sip of a mocha. He almost groans in relief when he tastes the flavor of coffee. Satisfied, he slides the cup back to Jongho. “You have some relationship advice for me?” 

Jongho hugs his drink close to himself, narrowing his eyes at him. “I mean, do you want some?” he asks. 

Wooyoung laughs and means to tell Jongho that no, he doesn’t want relationship advice from him. Instead he says, “Let me ask you something. Am I an asshole for being in love with my best friend?” 

Jongho appears visibly confused by his question. “Huh? You like Hongjoong?” 

“What? No!” 

“You literally just said you were in love with your best friend,” Jongho reminds him. 

Oh, right. They thought he was Yunho. Wooyoung clears his throat and tries to think of a better way to explain his point. “Okay, step back a second. Imagine this is hypothetical. Imagine I’m in love with my hypothetical best friend,” he suggests. 

Jongho tilts his head to the side and squints at him. “So pretend you’re hypothetically in love with Hongjoong?” 

“No! Just—” Wooyoung resists the urge to strangle this kid. “Forget Hongjoong! Just like my best friend. Make him a faceless person for a second.” 

“Okay…” 

“You got it?” Wooyoung asks even though he’s fairly certain Jongho is probably just picturing Hongjoong. “Okay, now say I’m in love with this person. Like really. Like I’ve loved them since I was a kid.” 

Jongho’s eyebrows furrow together as he twirls his cup around in his hand. “And this would make you an asshole because…?”

Wooyoung holds a finger out to tell Jongho to wait. “Now what if, hypothetically, I already had a boyfriend. And he’s great and everything, he’s just not the best friend I’m in love with. Am I the asshole?” 

“I’d wonder why you just didn’t break up with the boyfriend to date the person you love?” Jongho answers slowly, tone lifting up into a question at the end. 

Wooyoung deflates. He kind of hates Yunho and all his friends. They make this shit sound so easy when it’s _not_. Don’t any of them have real, practical experience with this stuff? “Okay, fine. You’re right, but breaking up with someone isn’t all that easy, especially when you really love and respect that person.” 

“But you just said—” 

“So then!” Wooyoung cuts in, leaning his elbows against the table so he can get into Jongho’s personal space. “Would it be weird to ask someone to break up with my boyfriend for me?” 

Jongho apparently has had enough of this because he throws his hands up in defeat. “Look, if you’re trying to tell me something about this guy you have a crush on you’re being way too cryptic.” He pauses for a moment, looking troubled. “Do you really like Hongjoong? Because those drawings look nothing like him.” 

“No! Just—nevermind. You’re no help at all,” Wooyoung groans, rubbing his hands over his face. 

Jongho grumbles something under his breath, eyeing Wooyoung oddly, but he doesn’t have time to think about it or worry about it. All he can currently think about is what the hell Yunho is up to right now. 

  
  
  
  


There’s a pond up north from the school that almost no one goes to. Yunho only really found it by accident when he hadn’t known what to do during the day in Wooyoung’s body, so he’d killed time there. It’s also where he asks San to meet him, figuring that it’s at least somewhere private and quiet to have this conversation. 

He’s doodling in one of Wooyoung’s notebooks to kill time, slightly horrified with himself when he realizes that he’s drawing the same thing he’s been stuck on drawing lately—San—when, speak of the devil, Wooyoung’s boyfriend clears his throat. Yunho looks up as he quickly flips the notebook around, hiding the drawing he just made and hopes that San didn’t see. 

No such luck because San eyes the notebook in his lap with interest. “I didn’t know you could draw,” he remarks. 

Yunho swallows thickly. “Oh. That’s just...nothing really.” He turns to grab the coffee he’d balanced on the arm of the bench and offers it up to San. “Here,” he says. “It’s for you.” 

San eyes the drink in his hand and his lips pull down into a frown. Yunho feels his heart drop at the expression on his face. “What, another peace treaty?” he asks even as he reluctantly takes the cup from Yunho’s hand. He sits down next to Yunho who notes the distance between them. “Are you going to apologize?” San asks. 

Yunho blinks at him, lips parting to do just that before he stops himself. No, that’s not what he’s here to do today. Today he has to end things between them. For Wooyoung. 

San glances over to him with an unreadable expression. “You seem like you’re in one of your apologetic moods,” he notes. “I’m telling you right now though, I don’t really want to hear it. We fight, then you apologize and do something nice for me,” he looks down at the coffee in his hands as if to prove a point, “and promise me that we can fix this and then we fight again. I’m tired of this, Wooyoung.” 

“You’re right,” Yunho acknowledges. “I kept saying that and then never followed through. You have every right to be mad at me.” Yunho can’t really blame him. He feels sorry for Wooyoung, really he does, but that doesn’t mean he can’t understand San’s side either. He deserves more. He deserves better. 

San laughs at his response, fingers toying along the edge of the lid. “I hate when you’re like this,” he whispers. “It’s like you’re a completely different person.” Yunho’s blood runs cold. It’s not really because San almost hits the nail on the head there with the comment. It’s the implication behind his words that make Yunho shrink back. He doesn’t like this Wooyoung. He doesn’t like _Yunho_. “You always make me think that we can fix this, but we really can’t, can we?” 

Yunho takes in a shuddery breath. He told Wooyoung that he could do this, under the impression that it would be easier considering he’s not actually San’s boyfriend. Instead, he finds this to be one of the most difficult things he’s ever done. Maybe even more so than when he found his father—he sucks in a breath to halt that train of thought and focuses back on San. He’s oddly reluctant to do this now. He wants to convince San that they can make it work if he just gave Yunho, the real Yunho, a chance. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, averting his gaze from San. He needs to. He needs to harden his resolve. This isn’t working for Wooyoung, and it most definitely isn’t going to work for Yunho. It’s nice to pretend, when he’s here, but he can’t keep pretending that he has a relationship with San at the expense of both San and Wooyoung. It wouldn’t exactly be fair. 

“What for?” San asks. Yunho peeks up to him. He doesn’t sound like he’s asking because he’s curious. He sounds like he’s leading Yunho. 

“You were right,” Yunho says slowly, fingers tracing along the spiral spine of the notebook in his lap. “This isn’t working for us, and I’ve been incredibly unfair to you. We...we should end things here.” 

San sucks in a sharp breath and looks down at his lap. Yunho honestly doesn’t have the courage to look at him, but he can only imagine the tears that must be gathering in his eyes if the sniffling sounds are anything to go by. It’s weird, breaking up with someone who isn’t really his boyfriend. Yunho feels guilty, but in the way that he feels bad for hurting someone’s feelings more than because his relationship is about to come to an end. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes again. “I just didn’t want to hurt you. I do really like you, San. I want you to be my best friend, but I understand that things are weird now. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” It’s all the feelings that he knows Wooyoung has. He wants to portray them as best he can, but in the end they’re Yunho’s words and not Wooyoung’s, and he doesn’t know if it will be enough to save their friendship. 

“Don’t be,” San tells him through his sniffles, reaching up to wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket. “It’s not like I was being all that fair either. I could have done this to spare you the pain and hassle. I’ve known for so long that this wasn’t working, but I just thought maybe, eventually you’d come around.” He drops his hand down to his lap as his sniffles lessen. “I thought about it, you know. There was a time that I really thought I should just do this and break up with you for the both of us, but then you were so sweet to me that day. I figured it was a done deal when you practically shoved me away after I kissed you, but then all those little things for the rest of the day...it was stupid, but I hoped.” 

Yunho tenses up at his words, wondering if San is referring to  _ that _ day in particular. The day Wooyoung and Yunho had first switched. Everyone had seemed to notice the difference in Yunho’s behavior that day. But is that even his fault? How could Yunho have known how to behave around complete strangers? It wasn’t _fair_. 

“I was wrong for giving you that hope,” Yunho apologizes and means it. It is because of him. His behavior around San is clearly different from Wooyoung’s, and he has no doubt that he definitely must have confused poor San a couple of times. 

“I’m jealous,” San laughs although it sounds anything but joyful. “Yeosang is so lucky. He just doesn’t see what’s in front of him.” 

Yunho bites down on his lip. So everyone does know then. “San…” he says slowly, but San just shakes his head, dark hair swaying with him. 

“Don’t worry. I’m not so petty that I’d tell him or anything,” he assures Yunho. “I know it’s complicated between you two. Just tell me one thing.” Yunho peers at him upon the request, tilting his head to indicate that he’s listening. “Just tell me...are you breaking up with me because you really don’t like me anymore? Are you really in love with Yeosang or is it just a residual thing from high school?” 

Yunho stares down at the notebook in his lap and wonders what he should say. He thinks through Wooyoung’s words and everything he’s told him so far. San had never been a fling, but he couldn’t divert Wooyoung’s affections away from Yeosang either. He does his best to channel Wooyoung’s feelings as best he understands them.

“I do like you,” he says. “But I’ve always been in love with Yeosang. I thought I could change that with you, but I couldn’t. I’m sorry. It was unfair, but I really—” 

Yunho doesn’t get to finish his thought because, without warning, San reaches down to flip over the notebook in Yunho’s lap, snorting when he reveals the picture of San Yunho had been doodling. “At least be truthful,” he mutters. 

Yunho doesn’t know what to say. He’s mortified, but he’s quick to turn it back around, bending the notebook to hug it along his lap. “Listen, this is—” Yunho swallows down his own non-existent excuse because what can he say? 

“It’s fine,” San tells him with a shake of his head as he slides off the bench to stand up. “I’m not mad about it. Honestly, I’m just kinda relieved. I feel like this tension has been building between us for months now. I just don’t want you to half-ass your feelings for Yeosang like you did to me.” 

“I’m sorry,” Yunho croaks out. He doesn’t get it. San isn’t his boyfriend, and he doesn’t even have a crush on Yeosang, so why does he feel like he’s being crushed by his own guilt? 

“Stop apologizing,” San pleads. “You’ll make me feel bad.” Yunho almost laughs because San is doing a fantastic job of making him feel terribly guilty right now. Then San looks down at the coffee Yunho bought for him and asks, “So this is it then, huh?” 

“Wait, listen San,” Yunho pleads with him, too scared to stand up from the bench himself. San turns to look at him, and Yunho immediately becomes mute. This is for Wooyoung, he tells himself. Anyways, it’s not like he has a real relationship with San. There’s no reason he should be this scared. “I know you’re probably mad at me, and you have every right to be, honestly, but I am really sorry.” 

“I know you are,” San tells him. “Doesn’t change how pissed I am though.”

Yunho nods his head and acknowledges San’s feelings but adds, “I know. I understand. But I really want to be your friend. I like you. You’re my best friend, and we have a lot of fun together. I just don’t...like you the same way.” 

San sucks in a sharp breath at his words and turns his back to Yunho. “That’s so mean,” he murmurs, tucking his chin to his chest. Yunho bites down on his lower lip and wonders if he should take back that request. “How can you ask me to be your best friend after breaking up with me?” 

“San—”

“Give me some time,” San interrupts him. “I also want to hang out with you still. I do. I just don’t want to do it when I still really like you.” 

“Okay,” Yunho murmurs in agreement. He should be pleased, elated even, that San is willing to indulge him in spite of his pain, but he’s not. He’s not because San isn’t indulging _him_. He’s indulging Wooyoung and what Wooyoung wants. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone for a bit,” San requests, clearly desperate for a way out of this conversation.

Yunho nods his head in response. He understands, so he watches, with growing despair, as San walks away from him. When he’s finally gone, Yunho drops his gaze down to the notebook in his lap with his lips pressed together in a thin line. He finally relents on the pressure he’s placed on it, nearly bending it in half over his knee, to flip it around and glare down at the sketch he’d been working on. 

Why had he been so stupid? He shouldn’t have been drawing in the first place in Wooyoung’s body, let alone sketching out the very person he just broke up with because he supposedly _doesn’t love him anymore_. He tears the page out with more force than is strictly necessary, crumpling it up into a ball. He should have been more careful. He must be careful when he’s in Wooyoung’s body. 

  
  
  
  


He receives a message from Wooyoung halfway through the next day. It’s a simple thanks to express his gratitude for the favor Yunho did for him. Yunho honestly doesn’t know how to respond to his message, so he doesn’t. He leaves it on read and tries to go about his day as normally as he can although he can’t say he’s been successful exactly given just how many times Hongjoong asks him if he’s feeling okay. 

By nightfall, Yunho finally manages to think of a response to Wooyoung’s message. 

**[ 8:23 ]** **  
** _ How are things with San? _

Wooyoung answers uncharacteristically fast, answering that San isn’t really ready to talk to him yet but that he seems willing to rekindle their friendship at a later point which he thanks Yunho for again. Yunho doesn’t know if he should be thanking him for that, so he asks about Yeosang instead. How are things with him? Has Wooyoung asked him out yet? 

Wooyoung goes mute after that question, not answering Yunho for the rest of the night. 

He wakes up the next morning with a text from Wooyoung.

**[ 5:42 ]**   
_ i havnt said anything to him yet.  _ _  
_ _ when do u think itd be a good idea? _

Yunho has quite a few questions starting with why Wooyoung texted him at 5 in the morning. If there’s one thing he’s learned about Wooyoung over this time it’s that he’s not an early bird much like Yunho himself. His second question is what in the world possessed Wooyoung to even ask him that? How would Yunho know? He’s not exactly much of an expert when it comes to relationships. 

He doesn’t know what to tell Wooyoung, and he says as much. 

**[ 1:15 ]**   
_ i mean, when would u confess to someone u like? or like how?  _

Yunho swallows thickly after he reads that message. It hits just a little too close to home, not that Wooyoung would really know that. When would he confess? How would he do it? None of those questions even mattered because the person he liked didn’t even know who the hell he was. He didn’t even know Yunho _existed_. So how would he go about confessing? Well, he wouldn’t. That’s the real answer, but it’s not the one he knows Wooyoung is looking for. 

It feels so stupid. His growing crush on Wooyoung’s ex-boyfriend only seems to grow every day. He would think the time and distance would allow it to subside, but he finds that time not spent in Wooyoung’s body and, by extension, with San, just leaves him with ample time to just _imagine_. Fantasize. Think. What would it be like? Could Yunho be the partner to San that Wooyoung could not?

It’s stupid, yet Yunho feels absolutely paralyzed as he stares down at his sketchbook, an empty canvas beside him. Portraits. That’s his assignment. To make a portrait. It’s not really hard to do. It’s not supposed to be hard to do, but Yunho finds himself frozen and at a loss for what to do. He’s not much of a portrait kind of artist. His pieces tend to align with objects, patterns, places—all that which is devoid of people basically. But while it might not be his specialty, so to speak, it shouldn’t be difficult. 

It shouldn’t be hard to just ask one of his friends to help him. To be a model for him to use. Hongjoong would definitely help. Seonghwa might even be a better choice to ask. But the only person who comes to mind is San. The one person he can’t even ask. Whenever he puts pen to paper the only thing that he puts down is San’s face, or the beginning of it. It might have even been okay if he could just put his sketches down on his canvas, but he can’t. 

Lately, when it comes to San, the only thing he can draw up is the expression on his face the day Yunho broke up with him. He hates it. It’s like he’s reliving that day over and over again. He kind of wants to ask Wooyoung about him, but it feels rude. San is his ex now and wouldn’t it be kind of odd for Yunho to ask of all people? Maybe it’s fair. Yunho did break up with him after all. Maybe it wouldn’t be so odd to ask how San is holding up in the aftermath. 

“You okay?” 

Yunho blinks and looks up when Hongjoong comes into the studio holding two paper cups. Oh right. He’d asked Hongjoong if he could get him some tea. 

“I’m fine,” he lies. 

Hongjoong arches one eyebrow at his lackluster response but keeps quiet as he hands Yunho his cup of tea. Yunho places his sketchbook aside to take Hongjoong’s offering. “You seem troubled,” his friend tells him. His eyes wander over the studio, lingering on the blank canvas. “Is it the project?” he asks. 

Shrugging his shoulders, Yunho looks down at his empty canvas as well and says, “Portraits aren’t really my forte.” 

“I know, but you’re not usually one to just  _ not _ do it either,” Hongjoong points out. 

“I’ll do it,” Yunho insists, blowing some cool air over his tea before taking a tentative sip. “I’m just...not ready to work on it now.” 

Hongjoong cocks his head to the side and asks, “How come? Do you need a model?” His eyes light up as he scoots closer to him, and if Yunho weren’t in such utter turmoil himself he might have laughed at his friend’s obvious behavior. 

“Oh. Thanks, but it’s not really that.” 

Hongjoong’s expression falls. The corner of Yunho’s lips quirk up, and he feels a little bad for turning his friend down like this. Normally he probably would have taken Hongjoong up on his clear offer, but he just isn’t feeling it. He doesn’t  _ want  _ to draw anyone. Or anyone who isn’t San at least. 

“What’s the issue then?” Hongjoong asks him, quick to shake off his disappointment. 

“Nothing really,” Yunho assures him. He turns to his canvas, reaching out to pinch one of the corners of it. “I have an idea of what I want to do, actually. I know what I want to paint. I’m just...not exactly sure how to get it done.” 

Hongjoong perks up at his words, his interest promptly piqued, and he asks, “Who?” 

Yunho turns his gaze back to him and plays dumb, “What?” 

“Who do you want to paint?” Hongjoong clarifies. 

Yunho hesitates, “Oh. You know. Not—I mean, it’s not that I have anyone in particular or specific in mind. It’s just, like, an idea of what I want to do, you know?” 

Hongjoong folds his arms over his chest and looks exasperated by Yunho’s jumbled and incoherent response. He eyes his best friend critically for a moment before he finally asks, “Are you really alright?” 

Yunho is shocked, to say the least, by the question, and he can only stare at Hongjoong quietly as he processes his concern. When did he seem like he wasn’t okay exactly? “Of course I’m alright,” he says unconvincingly. It’s not that he  _ doesn’t _ sound as if he’s alright. He’s not upset or anything, but okay? He’s not really that either. 

Hongjoong is equally unconvinced, and Yunho feels guilty about it when his friend’s expression momentarily falls in disappointment. He’s quick to hide it though, probably to spare Yunho. However, unlike his usual habit, Hongjoong doesn’t stop pressing him on it. “You sure? You’ve been kind of odd lately,” he notes. 

Licking his lips, Yunho avoids Hongjoong’s eyes. “Odd?” he repeats. 

“Yeah.” Hongjoong reaches out for Yunho’s sketchpad, hovering over it for a moment to see if his friend will object, but Yunho only stares at it, torn between moving it away from Hongjoong or letting him have it. His indecisiveness gives Hongjoong an opening to take it from him, and he does. “In the past month or so,” he elaborates as he sets the sketchbook down on his lap. “Sometimes you’re just...not like yourself. It’s not—not in a bad way or anything. You seem...happier sometimes, but it’s like you’re a different person.” 

Yunho tenses up at Hongjoong’s words, wondering if he’s perhaps referring to when Wooyoung is here instead of him. 

“I know things have been...difficult since high school. With your dad—” They both simultaneously wince at the reminder. “Anyways, what I’m just trying to say is that I’m worried, and that you know I’m here for you if you need anything.” 

“I know,” Yunho acknowledges, finally turning his head to meet Hongjoong’s gaze. “It’s not that though. I swear.” 

Nodding his head, Hongjoong’s gaze drops down to the sketchbook in his lap, and he carefully flips it open. Yunho watches him sift through his different sketches but doesn’t protest as Hongjoong looks through all his different sketches. Yunho isn’t really surprised by what Hongjoong settles on, but his eyes slide shut anyways as he silently curses when Hongjoong settles on a sketch of San. 

“Who is this?” he asks bluntly. 

Yunho rubs his fingers across his forehead. “It’s…” he’s at a loss for words. “He’s just…” Yunho scratches at his head as he tries to think of an explanation. 

“I don’t recognize him,” Hongjoong says, sounding troubled. 

Yunho presses his lips together in a thin line. Hongjoong wouldn’t know him, of course. Even Yunho can’t say that he really knows who San is either. “He’s someone I know,” he fibs. It’s the best response he can muster. 

Frowning, Hongjoong nods his head once, flipping over a few more pages—each one just a different sketch of San. Yunho rubs his hands together nervously, waiting for Hongjoong to speak again. He has questions. Yunho knows that he must have more questions. “You draw him a lot,” he notes. 

“He’s…” Yunho drums his fingers together as he searches for the word he wants. “Pretty,” he finally settles on. 

Hongjoong raises his eyebrows at his response but doesn’t comment on it. Instead he asks, “What’s his name?” 

Yunho hesitates a bit more with that question. “Um, San,” he answers truthfully, figuring that it doesn’t hurt to tell Hongjoong his name. It’s not like his friend will ever know, right? 

Humming, Hongjoong passes the sketchbook back to Yunho who takes it, tucking it under his armpit. “Are you going to paint him then?” 

Yunho eyebrows knit together at his friend’s tone. He doesn’t quite know what it is. Hongjoong doesn’t sound upset with Yunho but he sounds suspicious. Concerned maybe. Yunho squeezes his arms down on his sketchbook. It’s an easy enough question to answer. “No,” he says, “I wasn’t going to. I can’t anyways.” 

“Oh. How come?” 

Yunho clears his throat and stammers, “Oh, well because.” He quickly racks his brain for a real answer. “It’s complicated.” 

Hongjoong narrows his eyes at his response. Yunho runs his fingers over his lap. He figures that he didn’t really answer Hongjoong’s question. If anything he probably only raised even more questions. “Has he...hurt you or something?” Hongjoong asks carefully, worried that perhaps this might be the root of Yunho’s odd behavior lately. 

“Huh? No. No!” Yunho shakes his head. If anything it’s the opposite. “I honestly can’t really explain what it is. I just, like, wouldn’t even be able to get a hold of him to ask even if I wanted to.” He smiles at Hongjoong’s thoughtful expression, amused by his friend’s obvious attempt to think up scenarios that could explain Yunho’s answer. “One day I think I’ll be able to explain it to you,” Yunho tells him, reaching out to poke Hongjoong on the arm. 

“Why can’t you tell me now?” the elder whines, scooting himself closer to Yunho. “We’ve been friends forever. You always tell me everything.” 

“I do,” Yunho acknowledges. He takes the sketchbook from under his arm and drops it to the ground so he can reach out to pull Hongjoong into a loose hug. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you or anything, I just don’t really know what’s going on myself yet.” 

Hongjoong pulls away from Yunho to look up at his friend with clear concern. “Now I’m even more worried,” he says. 

“It’s not bad,” Yunho assures him although he wonders if that’s really true. “I just...don’t quite know if I can put it into words. I don’t even know if it’s real.” 

Hongjoong bites down on his bottom lip, wishing he could do more to help his friend. “Okay,” he relents despite the concern crawling up his spine. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you.” 

  
  
  
  


Yunho isn’t quite sure when Wooyoung decided he was worth turning to for advice or when he started viewing Yunho as a good friend, but over the next few weeks he continues to bombard Yunho with texts and sometimes calls. They haven’t switched since Yunho took care of the breakup for him, and it’s the longest they’ve ever gone so far without switching. Perhaps that means this is all over, but it’s hard to move on from it when he stays in contact with Wooyoung like this. 

“So I guess things aren’t so good then?” Yunho asks, lifting his shoulder and tilting his head down to nudge his wireless earbud back into place. He worries that Wooyoung can hear the sound of his sink as he scrapes off the little flecks of paint from his fingers. He’d already finished cleaning all his paint brushes and now it’s time for his hands. 

Wooyoung sighs again before coming alive when he registers Yunho’s question. “Huh? Oh, what makes you think that?” he asks. 

Yunho winces a little when he digs his nails a little too hard into his skin. “You keep sighing,” he points out before shutting off his water. He shakes the excess water off his hands before yanking out a couple paper towel sheets to dry his hands on. 

“Am I?” Wooyoung asks. 

Yunho hums in affirmation as he gathers up his paint brushes from the counter and takes them back to his studio room with him. “Yeah. Plus you called, so I figured that something must be up.” 

“Oh.” Wooyoung is quiet for a moment before he sputters, “Wait. I don’t only call when something is up! Do I?” 

“Not really,” Yunho tells him. “But, I mean, why call if nothing is up, right?” 

“Shit. Sorry, dude. I don’t mean to only call you to unload or anything—”

“It’s okay,” Yunho tells him. “I don’t mind, and anyways I get it.” 

Wooyoung sighs again although this time it’s one of relief rather than exasperation. “Thanks, dude,” he tells Yunho. “It’s just that you’re really the only one I can talk to about  _ this _ stuff, you know? Even if you don’t have any advice or whatever, just talking about it makes me feel better.” 

“Because I know what it’s like to live in your body?” Yunho asks as he lays his paintbrushes over some paper towels he had prepared earlier. He spreads them out with his palm, making sure they’re not too crowded together so that they’ll actually dry. 

“Well, yeah,” Wooyoung agrees, “but also, like, you’re not really involved in this, you know? You’re unbiased. Like Yeosang is glad I broke up with San because I was kinda being an ass about the whole thing, right? And I think Mingi feels the same way, but he’s still a little pissed at me because San is just upset about it anyways, you know? I can’t talk to him about Yeosang, and I sure as hell can’t talk to San about him, and, like, nobody will really tell me what’s up with San either, so that leaves you.” He pauses for a moment before he adds, “Unless you also hate me too. In that case, I guess there’s nobody.” 

Yunho snorts as he gently pats a paper towel over his brushes. “I don’t hate you,” he assures Wooyoung. The first few times they ever spoke with each other, Yunho can’t say he particularly liked Wooyoung who seemed rude and standoff-ish with him. Over time, whether from their weird body switching experience or not, they seemed to have developed some sort of camaraderie with each other. Sometimes when they talk they seem like they’re just old friends. 

“I just don’t know if I can really help you,” Yunho tells him. “I’ve never had a boyfriend, let alone anything complicated like this.” 

“Well, it’s not like having a relationship makes you a guru or anything. I mean, look at me,” Wooyoung snorts at his example. “I suck at this.” 

Yunho frowns, feeling sorry for Wooyoung. He asks, “So is San not really talking to you still?” 

Another sigh escapes Wooyoung’s lips. “No, we’re talking. It’s just…” 

“Awkward?” Yunho guesses. 

There’s an extended pause on Wooyoung’s end for a moment. “I mean, it’s actually not all that awkward. We kinda talk a lot now, it’s just...not the same?” 

Yunho scrunches his nose up in confusion because what exactly was Wooyoung expecting? “Well, of course it’s not, right? You guys broke up, so obviously it’s not going to be the same. I thought that’s what you wanted.” 

“It is!” Wooyoung assures him. “But, I don’t know, it’s also just...not what I wanted? Like we talk, and that’s kind of normal. Like we talk about pretty much anything except the break up and Yeosang, but that’s kind of all we do. It’s only text. We don’t hang out at all or anything.” 

“Did you try asking him to hang out?” Yunho asks. 

“Well, yeah,” Wooyoung admits. “It was a while ago though.”

“What did he say?” 

Wooyoung snorts, “No.” Yunho frowns at his response. “He said no,” Wooyoung reiterates. “He said he didn’t feel that comfortable with me yet.” 

“Can you blame him?” Yunho asks. 

“No,” Wooyoung reluctantly admits. “I guess I can’t.” 

“Maybe enough time has passed since then,” Yunho suggests after sensing the dejection and defeat in Wooyoung’s tone. “If you guys are talking comfortably over text by now maybe he’s ready to see you face-to-face.” He crumples up his wet paper towel and tosses it aside before he reaches up to adjust his earbuds. 

“Maybe,” Wooyoung agrees before pausing. Silence hangs over them for a beat too long while Yunho struggles to find something to say to fill the silence. “Do you think it’ll be okay?” 

Yunho wipes his hands down on his pants, tilting his head to the side as he stares at his completed painting. It’s not the job he wanted to complete, but it’s better than not turning anything in for his assignment. Seonghwa had been nice enough to spend his free time modeling for Yunho. It turned out nice. Seonghwa had been pleased with it at the very least. Yunho is more torn about it. He thinks he did a good enough job in all fairness, but it’s not the kind of painting he really wanted to do. 

“I think it’s worth giving it a shot,” he advises Wooyoung. 

The other boy hums, considering Yunho’s words for a moment. “What about Yeosang?” he asks for a change of subject. “What do you think I should do about him?” 

“You want to go out with him, right?” Yunho clarifies. 

“Yeah, but, I mean, I don’t want to make it weird for him. Besides, he already rejected me once.” 

Yunho carefully packs away his mostly dried brushes, pausing when he hears Wooyoung’s concern. “So, what happened back then anyways?” he asks as gently as he can manage. Wooyoung never told him much beyond the fact that he’d liked Yeosang for as long as he could remember and that he’d been rejected by him back in high school. “Did he ever tell you why he rejected you?” 

Wooyoung sucks in a sharp breath, and Yunho half expects him to say that it’s not his business or otherwise shut him down, but he’s quiet. He doesn’t say anything for a prolonged period of time. Yunho contemplates telling Wooyoung to forget about it or maybe just change the subject altogether, but at that moment Wooyoung finally says, “He told me to stop joking.” 

“Uh, huh?” Yunho asks intelligently. “He thought you were joking?” 

Wooyoung laughs, a hollow sound. “Yeah. Can you imagine? He thought my feelings for him were a joke.” 

What Yunho wants to ask is if Wooyoung maybe understands how San probably feels but what comes out instead is, “Did you not clarify that you weren’t joking?” 

“I was too horrified to,” Wooyoung admits in a small voice. “I figured that just meant he didn’t like me, you know? I thought it’d be better to just try to move on.” 

“So you went out with San?” 

“Yes. Well! No, it wasn’t like that,” Wooyoung quickly walks back his words. “Listen, I really did like San when I agreed to go out with him, okay? I know you probably think I’m an asshole about this whole thing, but I honestly really did. But it was a crush. That’s all. And it was my bad for letting him think it was anything more than that.” 

Yunho’s hands shake as he packs his brushes away in his bag. “I...I never thought you were an asshole about it,” he says, unsure if it’s actually a lie or not. He’s admittedly flip flopped on his opinion of Wooyoung a lot. Did he feel sorry for him? Sure. But did he also kind of resent him for making San so sad? Yunho would be lying if he said he didn’t. 

“You don’t have to lie about it,” Wooyoung huffs. “I know you like San.” 

Yunho’s breath hitches at the accusation, and his blood runs cold. “What are you talking about?” he tries to play dumb. “I don’t like him. I barely even know him.” 

“It’s okay,” Wooyoung assures him like he’s placating a cornered animal. “I spend time in your body too, you know. With your stuff and your friends. They talk about it.” 

He sounds so nonchalantly about it all, but Yunho’s panic only heightens in response. “No, I—” 

“He’s single now,” Wooyoung points out. “And it’s not like I had any right to be a jealous boyfriend or some shit. You like him, don’t you? Even your friends think so.” Yunho opens and closes his mouth but cannot get any words out in response. He doesn’t know what to say. Frankly, he’s _mortified_ , and Wooyoung’s composure over the whole thing does nothing but add to his mortification. “Anyways, I’m really sorry, man,” Wooyoung adds when Yunho doesn’t say anything. “I really am.” 

“For what?” Yunho finally croaks out. 

“For everything,” Wooyoung answers. “You’ve done a lot for me, and I really haven’t done anything for you. I’m sorry. Plus if you really do like San, and I made you break up with him for me, I don’t blame you for thinking I’m a dick, but I did really like him at one point. I swear.” 

“That...listen, I—” Yunho chokes on his own words, not sure how to continue. What can he say? 

“But anyways, yeah,” Wooyoung interrupts Yunho who breathes a sigh of relief as the subject is changed. “I guess I don’t even know how to approach Yeosang. What if he thinks I’m joking again?” 

Yunho starts to relax, glad that the subject has shifted from him although he remains on edge. “I don’t know. I wish I could help. It sounds complicated between San and him.” 

Wooyoung hums in agreement. “It is, but thanks for listening to me. Even if you don’t have any advice or anything, it’s just...nice to be able to talk to someone about this.” 

“Anytime,” Yunho assures him. 

  
  
  
  


Yunho can’t say he knows what exactly is the impetus for their body switching events, but he’s starting to suspect that it might have something to do with Wooyoung’s distress or issues with his relationships because he wakes up only a couple days later to Yeosang violently shaking him awake and scolding him because they’re going to be late for class. Unlike some of the previous times, Yunho comes awake slowly, blinking bleary eyes up at Yeosang. 

“Wake up!” 

“I’m awake,” Yunho says gruffly. 

“It’s like trying to wake the dead,” Yeosang laments with a shake of his head. 

With a groan, Yunho rubs his eyes with his fist and lifts himself up to a sitting position. “Sorry,” he apologizes, peering up at Yeosang who gulps. 

“You don’t have to apologize,” he says. “It was just a joke.” He sighs when Yunho doesn’t respond to that, still trying to rub the sleep from his eyes, “Now I feel bad.” 

“Don’t feel bad. How much time do we have until class?”

“We still have an hour, so you better start getting ready,” Yeosang suggests. 

“Do we have enough time to get breakfast before class?” 

Yeosang blinks, surprised by the question. “I mean sure, theoretically, but you’d have to get ready quickly,” he says. “You always take forever. That’s why I always wake you up with an hour left to go. Are you actually hungry for once?” He lifts one eyebrow up as he eyes his roommate from head to toe. Wooyoung isn’t typically one to eat breakfast, so it seems a bit odd for him to ask about breakfast. 

Humming, Yunho quickly rolls out of bed and stretches his body out. He’s not particularly hungry by any means. He doesn’t typically eat breakfast in the morning, but he just talked to Wooyoung a couple days ago. He’d been complaining about what he should do with Yeosang, unsure of how to make his move. Yunho figures there’s nothing wrong with nudging it along, right? 

“Well,” Yeosang crosses his arms over his chest, “if you get ready quick enough you can meet me in the cafeteria. Unlike you, I need breakfast.” 

“I’ll be quick,” Yunho promises. 

Yeosang nods his head but his expression betrays his skepticism, and he leaves Yunho on his own after gathering up his backpack and heading out the door. Yunho sifts through Wooyoung’s drawers for something to wear, doing his best to try and pick articles that he thinks will make him look good. Yunho isn’t exactly a fashionista himself, and it feels infinitely harder to dress a body that is not his own. 

He does his best, checking his appearance in the full-length mirror that Wooyoung positioned next to his drawer. He doesn’t think he looks terrible, but he does think he looks a little bit childish. He scratches his head, wondering if maybe it’s just Wooyoung’s body type. Or maybe it’s the fact that Yunho pulled out an oversized sweater. He contemplates looking for something else before realizing he only has a finite amount of time. 

It’s fine, he tells himself as he gathers Wooyoung’s backpack and phone from his desk. He looks fine, and at any rate Yeosang and Wooyoung are already friends. It’s not like he necessarily needs to attract Yeosang attention. 

He finds Yeosang in a secluded corner of the cafeteria, and Wooyoung’s roommate seems shocked to see him when Yunho approaches him with a small tray of food in hand. “You got ready fast,” he notes. 

“I said we should get breakfast together,” Yunho reminds him as he slides into the seat across from Yeosang. 

“Why?” Yeosang takes a sip from his mug. The scent of coffee hits Yunho’s nose, and he rubs at it, cringing at the smell. “It’s not like we don’t get lunch together everyday.” 

“Yeah, but that’s with everyone else,” Yunho says. He knows their routine by now. Lunch is always a group activity as far as Yunho can tell. “I wanted to spend some time with just you.” He wonders if his words sound as awkward as they feel coming out of his mouth. Is that too direct? Yeosang doesn’t seem bothered by them though. 

Instead he hums thoughtfully and asks, “Why? Too awkward with San around and everything?” 

“No,” Yunho denies reflexively even as he internally winces at the reminder of San. From the way Wooyoung talks about it, he gets the feeling that Wooyoung doesn’t really feel awkward around San so much as he just feels bad and guilty. Yunho, though, can only imagine how awkward it will be for him. “I just figured we could have some time together.” 

Yeosang sighs. “Just say you’re trying to avoid San,” he quips. Yunho’s stomach twists up from Yeosang’s words although he does his best to look innocent. “I get it. It must be weird seeing him and all.” 

Yunho winces and says, “We’re working it out.” 

“How is that going?” Yeosang asks, seeming genuinely curious. 

“Ah. Well—” Yunho is cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. He digs through his pocket to pull it out, expecting something from Wooyoung himself. When he pulls his phone out, however, he’s momentarily stunned when he sees San’s name light up across the phone screen. 

“Who’s that?” Yeosang asks, clearly intrigued by Yunho’s reaction. 

“Oh. Uh, nobody,” Yunho tries to brush him off even as he feels giddy about the fact that he just received a message from San. 

Yeosang hums and returns his attention back to his breakfast while Yunho opens up the text thread Wooyoung has going with San. He briefly goes through some of their most recent texts—not to be invasive or anything, he reasons with himself. He just needs to know how their relationship has changed in light of the breakup. It doesn’t even occur to him that he completely shafts Yeosang in favor of going through San’s texts and replying to the question about lunch today until Yeosang announces that he’s done, and they need to get to class soon. 

  
  
  
  


At lunch Yunho takes a seat next to San before it registers that doing so may be odd at best and uncomfortable for San at worst. Thankfully, San offers him a small smile and asks how he’s doing. So it’s not great, but it’s also not too bad. 

“I’m good. How was your test?” 

San blinks, a little caught off guard by Yunho’s question. He’d gathered that San had a test yesterday from the text messages and figured it would be something Wooyoung might ask about. Maybe not. Yeosang and Mingi make their way over to their table at that moment, taking the unoccupied seats on the other side of the table. Yunho doesn’t miss the way San’s eyes move between Yeosang and him. 

Right. San knows who Wooyoung actually likes. 

Lunch becomes horribly stiff after that. Yunho feels like he’s under a microscope. Mingi keeps staring at him and San, an obvious question in his eyes. San is equally as awkward. It’s painfully clear that he’s only comfortable talking to Mingi although he occasionally does his best to include Yunho in the conversation. He barely acknowledges Yeosang who, in all fairness, seems either oblivious or dismissive of the stinted conversation happening in front of him. He barely even talks. 

Yunho gets it now. The constant calls, the whining, the helplessness. Wooyoung clearly can’t figure out a way to cut through this, so how is Yunho supposed to? Pressing his lips together, he pulls out Wooyoung’s phone and easily finds his own message thread with Wooyoung. 

**[ 1:04 ]** **  
** _ This is really awkward. _

**[ 1:04 ]** **  
** _ what is? _ _  
_ _ u having lunch w everyone?  _

**[ 1:05 ]** _  
_ _ Yeah _

**[ 1:05 ]** _  
_ _ told u.  _ _  
_ _ idk what to do man _

Yunho wishes he could help, but he honestly has no advice for this kind of situation. More than that, it’s really not his business. It’s Wooyoung’s. 

**[ 1:08 ]** **  
** _ yo, whatever u do just dont hit on San _ _  
_ _ i kno u like him and all but we’re trying not to send mixed messages _

Yunho chokes on his own spit when he reads those messages, a little embarrassed but also a little incensed by Wooyoung’s lack of faith. 

**[ 1:08 ]**   
_ I wasn’t going to!  _ _  
_ _ And I haven’t for the record! _

Yunho silently seethes at Wooyoung’s messages. He knows that Wooyoung probably doesn’t mean it as anything more than a lighthearted joke—he can practically imagine Wooyoung laughing as he types it out—but he feels bad because it’s _true_. He’s not really been flirting with San or anything, but it’s the fact that Wooyoung really hit the nail on the head with that one. He does like San. Too much maybe. 

He doesn’t notice when San leans over him curiously, eyes on his phone. “Who’s Yunho?” 

Yunho startles at the question and looks over to San at the same time he flips Wooyoung’s phone over so it’s screen down. “Huh?” 

“Who were you texting?” San asks, glancing down at Wooyoung’s phone curiously. “It seemed important.” 

Yunho shakes his head. “No. Just a, uh, acquaintance.” 

San raises his eyebrows and asks, “Just an acquaintance? You text an acquaintance that much?” 

“It’s not that much,” Yunho deflects. 

San stares at him in such a way that Yunho can’t help but shift uncomfortably beneath his gaze. His gaze is sharp and calculating. It feels oddly like Hongjoong only it’s less warm. “You have time before you’re next class, right? I want to talk to you.” 

Yunho fidgets with his fingers and asks, “Talk about what?” 

“Oh, nothing important,” San assures him. “I just figured we could catch up a little or something.” 

Yunho frowns at his half-eaten food, unsure of what to make of San’s response. He doesn’t think San really means that, but he doesn’t know what to expect from San. He doesn’t know him well enough. His heart sinks into his stomach when Yeosang and Mingi start collecting their trash, San waving at Mingi as the taller boy makes his way over to the trash can. 

Yeosang pauses when Yunho stays still in his seat, looking between him and San curiously. “You going to stay here?” he asks.

Yunho smiles tightly and nods his head, tensing up when San drapes an arm over his shoulder. “We’re just going to talk,” San says with a grin. 

Yeosang nods his head, not thinking anything else of it as he, too, makes his way over to the trash. He only offers Yunho one last wave before he disappears around the corner. Now left alone with San, Yunho feels the tense atmosphere shift as the awkward air between them settles in. Yunho doesn’t know what to say. He can barely hold San’s gaze for more than a few seconds before his own guilt forces him to turn away. 

“Let’s go outside,” San suggests, tugging on Yunho’s arm. “Unless you want to finish that first.” 

Yunho grabs his tray with his half eaten lunch and shakes his head. “No. I’m not really hungry today,” he says with a heavy sigh. They might as well just get this over with. 

San follows his action, trailing behind him as Yunho discards his leftovers and stiffly makes his way to the courtyard outside of the cafeteria. 

They find an unoccupied bench to sit on although Yunho opts to stay standing, arms crossed over his chest and ready to escape at any moment while San comfortably lounges on the bench. No words are spoken between them for a prolonged moment before San finally asks, “Are you going to sit?” 

Yunho swallows thickly and eyes the empty space next to San. “I’d prefer to stand,” he says. San shrugs as if to tell him to suit himself. 

“How is it going with Yeosang?” San finally asks, getting straight to the point. Yunho blinks, caught off guard and with no answer. “Did you ask him out or tell him how you feel?” 

“Oh, uh, no,” Yunho answers, confident in the truthfulness of his words at least. Wooyoung talked to him about his troubles with Yeosang a lot, so Yunho at least knows this much. “I haven’t exactly found the right opportunity to.” 

San hums thoughtfully and says, “That’s too bad. I know he’s your childhood friend and all. You must be scared to ruin that, huh?” Yunho swallows thickly and nods his head because, yeah, that’s exactly how Wooyoung feels as far as he knows. “You promise me that’s what’s going on?” he asks. 

Yunho blinks at the question, completely thrown off and confused by San’s question. “What...do you mean?” 

San takes a deep breath and releases it through his mouth. “Oh, come on. When we broke up you were drawing pictures of me, and now one of your friends has to remind you not to flirt with me?” Yunho feels his heart sink to his stomach at San’s words because what?  _ What? _ “I’m really starting to wonder exactly why you broke up with me when you still obviously like me.”

Yunho’s breath hitches. “No, I don’t though,” he denies. 

“Sure,” San snorts, clearly not believing him. “That’s why you draw pictures of me and have friends remind you  _ not _ to hit on me, right? Because you don’t like me.” 

Yunho licks his lips, unsure of what to even say in response. He’s horrified. The sketch he drew and the texts he sent to Wooyoung, San had seen them all and it sowed enough doubt and suspicion in his mind. “I wasn’t lying,” he tries to convince San. “I do like Yeosang. It’s been torturing me for years, and that’s why I thought the best thing to do was to break it off with you.”

“But you still clearly like me,” San argues. 

“Well, that’s because—” Yunho bites down on his tongue because what’s he going to say? That he likes San just not Wooyoung? “I’m not trying to lead you on. I swear.” 

“It’s okay,” San cuts him off. “You don’t have to explain. I’ve already decided.” 

Yunho bites down on his lip, a little concerned by the determined tone of voice he uses. “You’ve decided what?” he asks hesitantly. 

“I’ll win you back,” he says. 

Yunho sputters, “What? No, you don’t understand.” 

“I do though,” San tells him. “I really like you, Wooyoung. I don’t have anything against just being your friend, but I  _ like _ you. We dated for almost three years, and I could have even accepted the break up if you really liked Yeosang, but you like me still too, don’t you?” Yunho shakes his head because no. Yes, he does, but not Wooyoung! It wasn’t ever supposed to be this complicated. 

“I like Yeosang,” he croaks out, probably sounding as sincere about it as he feels. 

San frowns at him, clearly skeptical about his own claim. “Maybe you’re just confused,” he offers. “I know you’ve known Yeosang forever and that you liked him in high school, but maybe you’re just falling back into what you’re used to. I don’t know what I did, but I can fix it.” 

“Don’t,” Yunho tells him. “It’s not you. I promise you that.”

“Then why?” San demands. “I’m not an idiot, Wooyoung. I know when someone likes me.” 

Yunho scrubs his face, at a loss of what to do. San is right, in a way, but he’s so, so wrong at the same time. “Listen, it’s really not like that. I don’t know how to explain it though, but you’ve got the wrong idea.” 

“How?” San laughs. “I saw what you did. Both that time and now. Like, I’m sorry for reading over your shoulder if that’s what you’re upset about. I just wanted to know who you were texting and I happened to see it, okay? I already had my doubts about this whole thing before, but now I’m sure I’m right. You still like me.” 

“It’s not that,” Yunho explains in a strained voice. “I thought we were on the same page anyways, San. Didn’t you tell me that you were thinking about breaking up too? Because I couldn’t give you what you deserved.” 

“I did,” San admits in a quieter voice, shrinking away from Yunho when he’s reminded of that fact. “I told you, though. Recently...recently you’ve been good to me. It’s like you fell for me all over again.” His lips curl up into a small, shy little smile that Yunho can’t return. 

No, he wants to tell San. It’s not like he’s falling for him all over again. It’s that Yunho has been whipped since he first saw him. 

“If you’re not committed to Yeosang, maybe I can remind you why you fell in love with me once.” 

“San—” 

“No!” San interrupts him sharply. “You don’t need to tell me anything now. I just wanted to let you know where I stand.” 

Yunho opens his mouth, wanting to thank San but also to tell him not to bother. Wooyoung’s stance isn’t likely to change any time soon, but he can’t. The words are caught in his throat, and he can’t force them out before San brushes his hands over his pants and stands up from the bench. 

“Well, I just wanted to let you know,” he says hesitantly before squaring his shoulders like he’s ready to storm into battle. 

Yunho should probably tell Wooyoung. He should probably make it clear to San that he’s grossly mistaken. He’s totally misunderstanding Yunho’s infatuation for Wooyoung’s, and that’s definitely problematic. He doesn’t though. Just watches silently and anxiously as San walks away from him. 

  
  
  
  


Yunho keeps sneaking glances at his phone throughout the day, half-expecting Wooyoung to blow up his phone with complaints about San’s behavior. He’d been too cowardly to say anything earlier, so now he feels like he’s walking on eggshells, waiting for Wooyoung to discover his mistakes. It’s his bad, really. He probably should warn Wooyoung that San has utterly misunderstood their text exchange and maybe he should set him straight. He doesn’t though. Just waits until the other shoe drops. 

Wooyoung does text him, about two days later, and it’s not a series of angry or panicked messages like Yunho expects. Instead, Wooyoung is oddly pleased with him. 

**[ 3:23 ]** **  
** _ yo, idk what u did but thanks! _

Yunho has no idea what he’s talking about. What did he do? The only things he can think of would all lead to Wooyoung’s anger rather than elation. 

**[ 3:33 ]** **  
** _ san is like actually talking to me again _ _  
_ _ we’re gonna get coffee together this weekend _ _  
_ _ just hang out, ya kno? _

He explains after Yunho expresses his confusion with a series of question marks. 

Yunho curls and uncurls his fingers as he digests Wooyoung’s texts. Just hang out, huh? He should probably tell Wooyoung that San is most definitely not on the same page as him. Now is the perfect time. All he has to do is warn him about the declaration a few days ago. Instead he sends this: 

**[ 3:43 ]** **  
** _ What about Yeosang? _

He changes the subject, or he tries to change the subject. It’s easy enough when Wooyoung eagerly takes the bait. 

**[ 3:44 ]** **  
** _ we’re getting dinner this weekend _ _  
_ _ im gonna tell him everything _

Good. That’s good, Yunho thinks. Hopefully everything will go well for him. Maybe by the end of this weekend Wooyoung will have a boyfriend who is definitely not San. 

**[ 3:46 ]** **  
** _ wish me luck! _

Yunho can only laugh humorlessly at that, thinking that Wooyoumg might really need it to navigate one crazy weekend. 

As it turns out, however, Wooyoung doesn’t really need that luck. He calls on Sunday night while Yunho is curled up in Hongjoong’s side for a movie night although Yunho is, admittedly, not paying any attention to the movie. He squirms when his phone vibrates in his lap, and Hongjoong looks at him curiously when Yunho frowns down at his caller ID. 

“You need to answer that?” Hongjoona asks him as he reaches for the remote by his side. He doesn’t pry. Doesn’t ask who Wooyoung is even though Yunho  _ knows _ he has questions. 

“No,” Yunho hesitates in spite of his initial denial. He doesn’t want to just ditch Hongjoong and their movie night to answer Wooyoung’s call, but then he’s struck with a distressing thought. When does Wooyoung tend to call him? Typically when something is wrong or he’s upset. Did something happen with Yeosang? Or maybe he’s upset with San’s behavior? 

“Actually, give me a second. I’ll answer this really quick,” he says. 

Hongjoong removes his arm from Yunho’s shoulder so the younger man can slide off the couch. He pauses the movie only for Yunho to turn around and wave off his gesture before pressing the phone to his ear. Hongjoong settles into the couch with a frown on his face, and he stubbornly keeps the movie paused, watching with hawk eyes as Yunho disappears into the kitchen. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Yunho asks as soon as he’s away from Hongjoong’s prying eyes. 

“Dude, Yunho,” Wooyoung greets him. Yunho notes with some optimism the excited tone in Wooyoung’s voice, and he immediately relaxes some of the tension in his body. 

“You’re in a good mood,” he observes. It’s less a comment on Wooyoung’s happiness and more an attempt to fish for any potential bad news. 

“I am,” Wooyoung agrees. “I talked to Yeosang.” 

Yunho bites down on his bottom lip anxiously. Yes, he knows but what happened? “I guess it went well then?” he guesses to which Wooyoung just hums in response. No more beating around the bush, Yunho decides. He’s been unwillingly invested in Wooyoung’s love life since they first switched bodies and Yunho stupidly fell in love with Wooyoung’s ex. Perhaps it will be the end of this whole train wreck. “So are you guys going out?” he asks. 

“Not exactly,” Wooyoung answers. 

Yunho glances back to the living room. It’s quiet because the movie is still paused which means that Hongjoong will probably hear him if he bashes his head against the wall like he wants to. “What do you mean?” he asks, doing his best to suppress the frustrated tone he would like to use. 

“Well, I confessed. Again. And we talked about that incident in high school.” Wooyoung laughs at the memory. “Yeosang felt so bad when I told him I’d been dead serious back then. It was kind of funny. But anyways, I just told him the truth. That I’d liked him forever, and I still do.” 

“And?” Yunho presses, anxious for the answer. 

“He said—he told me that he used to have a crush on me,” Wooyoung explains. “But he thought I only ever considered him a friend and didn’t want to ruin that. So that was something.” 

“So, what? He doesn’t like you anymore?” 

“Well, it’s not so much that,” Wooyoung tells him as Yunho spares another glance in Hongjoong’s direction. His friend is definitely going to have some questions. “He’s not against the idea of dating.He’s just against the idea of dating right now. I think he wants some time to think about it, and he’s worried about San. He thinks it’s too soon after the break up, you know?” 

“So...you’re going to date. Sometime in the near future,” Yunho concludes. 

“I think so, yeah.” Yunho can practically hear the grin in Wooyoung’s voice. 

“What about San?” he asks nervously. 

“I think he’ll be cool with it,” Wooyoung assures him. “I talked to him about it when we got coffee. He was chill.” 

Yunho blinks, a bit surprised by Wooyoung’s response. Chill? He just accepted it after he told Yunho that he was ready to try and win his ex-boyfriend back? “Oh. That’s good then.” Yes, definitely good. Maybe Yunho just misunderstood the whole thing. It was fine. Everything would be fine. “I’m glad for you, Wooyoung, but, uh, I’m doing something with one of my friends tonight so…” 

“Oh! Yeah, of course.” Wooyoung laughs again. “Sorry, I’ll let you go. I just thought I’d tell you the good news.” 

It’s the end of the conversation. They’re ready to say goodbye and go their separate ways for the rest of the night, and yet Yunho can’t help but blurt out, “Why?” 

“Huh? Oh. You know, I just thought you should know,” Wooyoung stammers like he suddenly realizes that it is kind of odd that he rushed to tell Yunho. “I mean, that way if we do the usual thing you’ll know how to act around Yeosang I guess.” 

“Maybe it won’t happen anymore,” Yunho suggests. There’s no real reason for either of them to think that this is the end of whatever the hell is going on with their body switching, but Yunho throws it out there anyways. 

“Yeah.” Wooyoung actually sounds a little distressed. 

“Don’t tell me you’ll miss this,” Yunho jokes. 

“No. God, no,” Wooyoung reassures him. “No offense, but I like my body and my friends. I’m more of a city boy anyways. But, I don’t know, I guess I’ll miss you.” 

Yunho tightens his grip on his phone while his heart flutters in his chest. He’s oddly touched by the sentiment. “You can always call,” he suggests. 

“Yeah, that’s true.” It’s as if there’s a silent agreement between the two of them. Yes, they could always still talk to each other if need be, but would they after this? Yunho is fairly sure he would have lost contact with his friends by now if not for Hongjoong’s persistence. Would he be able to maintain that sort of contact with Wooyoung? “Anyways,” Wooyoung’s voice cuts through his thoughts, “I’ll let you go. Get back to your friends.” 

They say their goodbyes to each other before hanging up. 

When Yunho returns to the living room, Hongjoong is still curled up on the couch, scrolling through his phone although he lifts his gaze up when Yunho comes back. He reaches an arm out in invitation, and Yunho is quick to fit himself back into his friend’s side, resting his head on Hongjoong’s shoulder. With that Hongjoong plays the movie again, and Yunho is quick to zone out. 

  
  
  
  


“So, who’s Wooyoung?” 

Yunho gasps at the question, his pen scratching across the page and creating an utterly unflattering line across the sketch he’d been working on. Jongho makes an alarmed and then pained noise, staring remorsefully at the sketch that had been him until Yunho streaked a line right over his face. Yunho stares at it, wondering how he might salvage that. Hongjoong only takes a sip of his iced tea and patiently waits for Yunho to answer him. 

“What?” Yunho asks. Jongho tugs at his arm, trying to move it so he can better assess the damage to his sketch. 

“Wooyoung,” Hongjoong repeats. “I didn’t want to ask earlier because I didn’t think you’d tell me, but you still haven’t so.” He shrugs his shoulders. “First there was San and now Wooyoung. Who are they?” 

Jongho lifts his head up, his interest piqued by two unfamiliar names. “Who’s San and Wooyoung?” he asks. 

Hongjoong glances at the youngest and says, “That’s what I want to know.” 

“Why? They’re just…” Yunho reaches up to tap his pen against his temple. “Is it important?” 

“No,” Hongjoong tells him at the same time Jongho says, “Yes.” The youngest pouts when Hongjoong sends him a reproachful glare. “Look,” Hongjoong says when he’s sure Jongho is silenced for now, “if you don’t want to tell me, that’s okay. I’m just concerned.” 

“They’re not bad people,” Yunho assures him. 

“Okay, but you don’t want to talk about them either,” Hongjoong points out. 

“Well, that’s because—” Yunho taps the tip of his pen against his sketchpad, ignoring Jongho’s alarmed cries as small little dots begin spotting the sketch. “I just don’t really know how to explain it.” 

Jongho snatches the pen from Yunho’s hand, thoroughly disappointed in the direction his sketch has gone. “What’s so hard about explaining who your new friends are?” he asks. 

A lot of things. Everything, Yunho thinks. Hongjoong reaches out for his sketchbook, and Yunho momentarily resists before ultimately relinquishing it to his friend. Hongjoong flips through some of the pages although Yunho already knows what he’s looking for. Hongjoong finally settles on one and sets the sketchbook down on the table between the three of them. Jongho leans over to inspect it, but Yunho can only spare it a brief glance before he averts his gaze. 

It’s just a small portrait of San. Nothing fancy, just something he doodled in a short time once. They all know about the sketches at this point, but Yunho still feels self-conscious as his friends study it. 

“Wooyoung?” Jongho guesses. 

Hongjoong shakes his head and says, “San.” 

“Ah.” Jongho sits back in his seat, eyes trailing up to Yunho. “Is he real?” he asks. 

Yunho frowns. “Of course he’s real.” 

Jongho shrugs because how is he supposed to know exactly? “Okay, so you have a crush on him. Big deal,” Jongho says nonchalantly. “It’s fine. We’re not judging you for that.” 

“It’s not that,” Yunho sighs, reaching out for his notebook. He doesn’t want it at the mercy of his friends anymore. “It’s just...okay, look, Wooyoung is his friend, okay?” 

“San’s?” Hongjoong clarifies. 

“Yeah. And he’s mine too, kind of,” Yunho mutters the last part under his breath. He doesn’t know what he would consider Wooyoung. Does Wooyoung consider him a friend? “I—I know of San through Wooyoung, but honestly? He has no idea who I am.” 

Hongjoong and Jongho exchange a look before the elder says, “That didn’t seem so complicated to me.” 

“Well, that’s the simplest explanation,” Yunho tells him. “The reality is really complicated.” 

“How so?” 

Yunho shakes his head. “I can’t explain it. Not in a way that makes sense.” 

Hongjoong doesn’t seem satisfied with his answer, but he doesn’t press it any further. Realizing the conversation is over, Jongho quickly looks for a way to change the subject. He shoves the pen he took back into Yunho’s hand, demanding a new sketch to replace the one that had been ruined by Hongjoong’s impromptu interrogation. Yunho is quick to indulge him, flipping his sketchbook open to a fresh page and putting pen to paper. 

Hongjoong watches his friends with much less enthusiasm. He doesn’t want to press Yunho any further when it’s clear that the younger isn’t willing to talk about it, but his worry only further cements itself with Yunho’s reluctance to provide a straightforward answer. Exactly what was going on with him? 

  
  
  
  


Wooyoung doesn’t call or text him after that last phone call. Yunho isn’t sure what that means. Are things going well with Yeosang, so he hasn’t contacted Yunho since there’s nothing to complain about? Or maybe things are not going as well, and Wooyoung just hasn’t had time to call him because he’s busy sorting through it all. Yunho could always just reach out to check on Wooyoung himself, but he doesn’t. He just chooses to think that Wooyoung has nothing to complain about lately which is a good thing which is more than what Yunho can say for himself. 

The time and distance he has from San in his own body is a blessing in a way. Every day that he spends in Wooyoung’s body is just another painful reminder of his growing affection for a guy who doesn’t know him and is already in love with someone else. It’s almost possible to think of San as an imaginary crush when he’s in his own body. At least until he goes to bed at night. 

His dreams are always haunted by San. They’re all oddly pleasant and fulfilling dreams where the fantasies Yunho has about a relationship with him become reality. But they’re always undercut by the idea—no—the reality that San thinks that he’s Wooyoung. It’s never Yunho that he’s in love with.

So, some weeks later, when Yunho wakes up in Wooyoung’s body for another one of their switch days he’s torn between elation and dread. The dread quickly wins out when Yunho becomes hyper aware of the warmth at his side. Looking down, Yunho admits that he is both surprised and not to see Yeosang curled up into his side. 

Yeosang is curled up against Wooyoung’s side. They went to bed cuddling each other, his brain helpfully provides. Dear God, what does that _mean?_ The last he heard they weren’t dating, but there was the expectation that they would probably start to date in the near future so did that mean Wooyoung was dating him now? Did they figure out what their relationship was going to be? 

Carefully, Yunho untangles himself from Yeosang and slides out of the bed, noting with some alarm that they were on Wooyoung’s bed. He hesitates at the bedside for a moment as he tries to figure out what to do. Eventually, he prods at Yeosang’s prone form because he should probably wake him up. “Hey, wake up,” he says, his voice just barely above a whisper. “What about classes?” If there’s one thing he’s learned about Yeosang during his time in Wooyoung’s body it’s that his roommate really cares about his classes. 

Yeosang stirs, groaning as he flings his arm out in search of Wooyoung’s body. “It’s Friday,” he murmurs in a sleepy voice. “No class until noon. Why are you even up so early?” He rubs at his eyes with his fists before reaching his hands above his head with a yawn. “You’re never up so early.” 

“Just woke up early today,” Yunho remarks, staring at the way Yeosang offers him a sleepy smile. 

“Do you want to get breakfast together then?” Yeosang suggests. 

Yunho nods his head despite not really feeling up to it. Does he want to get breakfast with Yeosang? No, not really. He wants to be at home in his own body and get brunch with Hongjoong and Seonghwa or something. He doesn’t want to pretend he’s into Yeosang because Wooyoung is, and he doesn’t want to see San. But he’s in Wooyoung’s body for today and there’s nothing he can do about it, so he agrees against his better judgement.

  
  
  
  


Yunho goes through the motions of Wooyoung’s life better than usual, he thinks. He spends the most time he ever has with Yeosang, and he thinks he does a reasonable job at being friendly but distant with San during the brief moment he sees him at lunch. He still doesn’t have much of a sense of where things are at. How is Wooyoung’s relationship with San? 

Wooyoung doesn’t text him during the day. Yunho could always send him something first, of course, but Wooyoung is silent so Yunho is quiet as well. 

By the time the evening comes, Yunho is eager to just go to sleep. The sooner he sleeps the faster he can wake up in his own body again, right? Alas, it is not to be because someone knocks at the door to their dorm right after Yunho finishes changing into comfortable sleep clothes. 

Yunho glances over to Yeosang who has made himself comfortable on Wooyoung’s bed, but he doesn’t even bother glancing up from his phone screen. Yunho’s gaze moves between the door and Yeosang while the knocking persists. Yeosang doesn’t even seem to hear it. With little choice left, Yunho shuffles over to the door and cracks it open just enough to peek through it. 

San is there, and Yunho’s mouth goes dry when he sees exactly what the other boy is wearing. He looks like he’s ready to go out for a night on the town. He looks hot. It’s nothing like the comfortable way San dresses during the school day. Yunho stares with wide eyes that trail down the other’s body, drinking in every inch of skin he shows. San stares back at him with an equally surprised expression although his gaze is less of a “speechlessly impressed” like Yunho’s and more of a “horrified shock.” 

“Tell me that’s not what you’re wearing to the party,” San says. 

Yeosang finally looks up from his phone and cries out in alarm. “Oh, my God, Wooyoung.” Yunho turns to look at Wooyoung’s roommate—boyfriend?—and blinks at his tone. Yeosang is just as appalled by his clothing apparently. “I get that you can make lounge clothes sexy, but I refuse to be seen with you like this,” he tells him. 

“What are you talking about?” Yunho asks, looking down at his clothes. Are they...going somewhere? 

“The party,” San answers for him as he slips into the room. Yunho watches as he makes a beeline for Wooyoung’s dresser and starts digging through it. His familiarity and comfort with Wooyoung’s possessions doesn’t escape Yunho’s notice. “Don’t tell me you forgot.” He pulls out a silky button down shirt, holding it up for inspection. 

“The party?” Yunho repeats with dread. 

“Yeah.” Yeosang hops off the bed as he, too, begins sifting through Wooyoung’s drawer, pulling out a pair of what Yunho really hopes aren’t real leather pants. “How could you forget when we’re supposed to go together for the first time?” 

“Exactly,” San chides him, tossing a small, tight black t-shirt in Yunho’s direction. 

“But it’s cold,” he protests as he eyes the piece of clothing. 

San looks at him over his shoulder with an odd expression. “Since when has that ever stopped you?” he asks. 

Yunho stammers but is spared from answering when Yeosang snatches a loose sweater from one of the drawers and offers it up to him instead. “Here. Wear this then.” He also hands him a pair of jeans. 

Yunho hugs the clothes to his chest, biting down on his bottom lip when Yeosang and San only stare at him expectantly. When it’s clear that neither of them are going to give him some privacy, Yunho just turns to give them his back and quickly gets to work changing out of his sleep clothes. He doesn’t want to continue with this charade anymore, but it doesn’t look like he’ll have a choice. 

He can feel both their gazes on his back, and maybe it’s just his imagination, but he swears San is practically burning holes into his bare back. When he’s done changing, he bends down to gather up his abandoned pajamas and deposit them onto his bed before he turns around to face the two of them. Yeosang gives him an appreciative once over, but San is quick to approach him. 

He reaches out for Yunho’s arm, and Yunho flinches away just slightly. San doesn’t hesitate though, pinching the sleeve of Wooyoung’s sweater and tugging it down over his shoulder. “There,” he says with a satisfied little smile. “Now you’re ready to go.” 

“Agreed,” Yeosang adds. 

Yunho spares one last glance at Wooyoung’s bed before he’s pulled from the dorm room. 

  
  
  
  


It’s not that Yunho has never been to a party before, but he’s not much of a party person. They’re fun. They can be fun, but it’s significantly more awkward when he’s with two people he only kind of knows. It’s even worse when the expectation is probably that he affords all his attention to Yeosang but he can’t stop himself from staring at San’s ass instead. 

Yeosang threads his arm through his when they enter the frat house, and Yunho does his best to not betray his own discomfort at the action. San turns back to them as soon as they're inside and leans in close so that he can be heard over the blast of music that greets them. “First thing, we gotta get some drinks,” San tells Yeosang. 

Yeosang looks over to Yunho as if seeking guidance. Yunho shrugs because, yeah, that seems about right to him. With a pout, Yeosang tugs on his arm, pulling the collar of his sweater down even further, and Yunho is quick to get the message. “What do you want to drink?” he asks. 

“Something light,” Yeosang tells him before pointing towards the couches. “I’ll be over there.” 

With a nod, Yunho follows San into the kitchen where all the alcohol is. San is quick to grab something in a plastic cup. Yunho takes a little bit longer, perusing the large selection of beer. When San tries to escape from the kitchen with his cup in hand, Yunho makes an alarmed noise and grabs him by his free arm to stop him. 

“Where are you going?” he asks. 

San blinks at him before taking a quick swig of whatever the hell is in his cup like he needs it just to deal with Yunho. “Um...I don’t know. Somewhere to have fun.”

“Wait for me,” Yunho requests. He doesn’t really want to be split from his little group so early into the night. Yeosang had made it clear where he would be, but he doesn’t think San will be joining him there any time soon. 

“Pfft, come on Wooyoung,” San laughs at him. “I know I invited you, but we both knew that I was on my own the second you asked Yeosang to come too.” 

Yunho recoils at his words. “I didn’t mean—” 

“I’m not blaming you,” San cuts him off as he twists his arm out of Yunho’s grip. “I get it, dude. He’s your boyfriend, and I know you didn’t intend to third-wheel me, but I just don’t really want to be around that, you know?” He sighs, looking down at the concoction in his cup. Yunho is equal parts horrified and impressed when San knocks it back like it’s nothing. “I’m just sad he got you first,” he murmurs. 

“San—” 

“I need another,” San suddenly announces, shaking his empty cup in explanation. “Don’t worry about me. Go have fun with your boyfriend. I’ll find someone to have fun with too. Don’t you worry.” He winks at Yunho before he turns to grab another plastic cup from the counter. Yunho only watches as he skids by him again, slipping out of the kitchen and into the mass of people in the living area. 

Turning back to the beer, he grabs two at random and heads off to find Yeosang. 

The party is in full swing when Yunho learns that Yeosang is  _ terrible _ at holding his alcohol. He saw it coming in all honesty after Yeosang was clearly tipsy after one beer. He’s also clearly not one for parties—a sentiment Yunho can at least relate to. He complains about the loud music into Yunho’s ear and keeps asking what he came out here for. 

“To have fun?” Yunho suggests, figuring that must have been why Wooyoung invited him. Or maybe he just felt weird going to a party with his ex-boyfriend when he had a new boyfriend. 

Yeosang scowls at him, fingers tracing along the collar of Yunho’s sweater. “When you asked me to come I didn’t think I was agreeing to breaking my eardrums,” he snarks back. “I thought we would, like, just drink a little and make out or something.” 

“Ah.” Yunho shifts in his seat uncomfortably. Wooyoung probably wouldn’t be too opposed to the idea, but Yunho feels uncomfortable with the notion. He turns his head away like Yeosang might just lunge over to kiss him if he’s not careful. “Is that what you want to do?” 

“No,” Yeosang admits, settling into Yunho’s side. It’s loud between the throng of people and the insanely loud music. “I mean, I did, but not anymore. I don’t know. You’re in a weird mood. I don’t feel like making out with you right now.” 

Yunho furrows his eyebrows together because what the hell is that supposed to mean? “Why do you say that?” he asks. Surely, Wooyoung can’t already be on the rocks with Yeosang yet, can he? 

Yeosang presses himself harder into Yunho’s side like he’s trying to imprint himself there. “I don’t know,” he slurs, turning his head so his lips are pressed against Yunho’s bare shoulder. Yunho shivers at the touch and tries to tug the collar of the sweater back up only for Yeosang to pull it down again. “You’ve been so good to me since we agreed to give this thing a shot,” Yeosang says as his fingers curl into Yunho’s sleeve. “It’s been nice. You make me feel  _ good _ about myself, but you haven’t said anything at all tonight.” 

Yeosang pulls back from him then, and Yunho glances to him as he motions to himself. “I know I’ve never been to a party before, but I really tried my best to dress nicely. I’m no San and—” he stares at Yunho’s bared shoulder, “I’m not you either, but I tried, and you haven’t said anything!” 

“You look nice,” Yunho compliments him, reaching out gently tug at the collar of Yeosang’s shirt. He does in all fairness. It’s just that Yunho hasn’t really been able to afford him much attention when San had strut into the dorm room dressed like _that_. It doesn’t seem to please Yeosang either because he just huffs and flops back into Yunho’s side. 

“I want to go back,” Yeosang grumbles. 

Yunho releases a breath of relief because he also wants to go back. Desperately. He just wants to  _ sleep _ and return to his own body. He wants these stupid episodes in Wooyoung’s body to end. “We can go back,” he agrees easily enough before remembering that San is somewhere around here and they should probably at least tell him that they’re leaving if he doesn’t feel like coming with them. “Wait here,” Yunho says as he carefully dislodges himself from Yeosang. “I’ll be right back.” 

Yeosang grumbles something under his breath but sinks into the arm of the couch as Yunho makes his way into the crowd. In retrospect, it probably would have been a lot easier to simply text San. He has his number on Wooyoung’s phone after all, but San might not have even seen his message until the next morning. It takes an inordinate amount of time, but Yunho finally finds San in the backyard playing a game of beer pong with someone unfamiliar. 

It’s hard to tell if he’s winning or losing, but he seems far gone if the dazed look in his eyes in anything to go by. Perhaps it’s just a matter of perspective. San’s beer pong partner cheers when he bounces one of the balls into a cup on the other side. A twinge of jealousy flares in Yunho’s stomach when he wraps his arm around San’s waist, pulling him close as their opponent lifts the cup up to drink its contents. 

Biting down on his lip, Yunho approaches San. He’s a little pleased when San almost immediately notices him, and he pulls away from his partner. “Hey, Wooyoung,” he greets with a little drunken smile. His gaze flits around Yunho before he furrows his eyebrows together. “Where’s Yeosang?” 

“He’s tired and wants to go back,” Yunho fibs. 

“We just got here though,” San pouts. It’s been a few hours, actually, but Yunho doesn’t correct him. “Wait, you didn’t just send him off on his own, did you?” 

“No!” Yunho denies with a shake of his head. “I’m gonna take him back. I just wanted to check in with you. Are you going to come with us or do you want to stay here?” 

San hums, thinking it over. Yunho feels his stomach twist in knots when he glances back over to his beer pong partner. He doesn’t like how San looks at him, and the jealousy rears its ugly head once more. “I don’t know. I’m having fun,” he says, turning back to give Yunho a smile. “You guys should go if you don’t want to stay though.” 

Yunho reaches out to grab him by the wrist when San turns to head back over to his game. “Are you sure?” he asks. 

San looks down at their hands pointedly, but Yunho doesn’t move it. If anything, he tightens his grip. “Why do you ask?” San challenges, arching an eyebrow at Yunho’s behavior. 

“I just want to make sure you’ll be okay,” Yunho answers. “I don’t want you to walk home late at night if you don’t have to, but if you want to stay I understand. Just be safe.” 

San blinks at him, shoulders relaxing as a genuine smile graces his lips again. “Who the hell are you?” he asks. Yunho pulls away at the question, caught off guard and more than a little bit concerned. “I really don’t understand you sometimes, Jung Wooyoung,” San sighs. Yunho internally breathes a sigh of relief. “You know, it’s when you treat me like this that you confuse me. We’re just friends now, aren’t we? Take your boyfriend home. You don’t need to come make sure I’ll be okay. I’m a big boy.” 

“I’m just worried,” Yunho tells him with a quick glance to San’s partner. 

“You could have just texted me or something,” San assures him. “It’s not like I was exactly expecting your attention when Yeosang is here.” He reaches out to touch the collar of Yunho’s shirt before pausing when he realizes what that must look like. “Keep this up and I really will think you still like me.”

“I do like you,” Yunho blurts out, a little too honest.

San peers up at him beneath long bangs, and Yunho barely thinks as he lifts a hand up to brush his hair out of his eyes. He needs to stop speaking as himself and start speaking as Wooyoung. He isn’t sure why it’s so hard to do. Maybe it’s the alcohol. Maybe Yunho’s just never really been good at pretending to be Wooyoung anyways if he’s given San the impression that his ex-boyfriend still really likes him. 

It’s a series of bad decisions and mistakes that lead to this moment. It’s a moment that Yunho both relishes and regrets because when San leans forward and presses his lips to Yunho’s he doesn’t push him away like he should. He doesn’t tell San that he’s misunderstanding Yunho’s concern because he’s not. He’s not, but it’s so wrong because Yunho is in love with him _in the wrong body_. 

None of that registers in his brain in that moment though. If it did, Yunho is fairly confident that he would have done the right thing. For San and Wooyoung’s sake. And his own too. Instead, he pulls San closer, pressing their bodies together as he licks along San’s bottom lip. This kiss is nothing like the first one Yunho had experienced when San had been nothing more than a stranger. Yunho’s body feels warm and his lips are wet, and he could definitely just stay here to make out with San if time and circumstances would permit, but, of course, none of that is easy. Not when this isn’t Yunho’s body and San isn’t his boyfriend. 

“Christ.” 

San shoves him away, face red and expression mortified as he stares over Yunho’s shoulders. Yunho doesn’t share in his horror even if he should. For a second, he doesn’t even register  _ who _ spoke or why San had reacted so viscerally to it. It’s only when he follows San’s gaze that it hits him just what the hell he’s done. 

Yeosang is at the back door, leaning against one of the porch railings as he glares at the two of them. Yunho’s blood runs cold when he sees the tight expression of Yeosang’s face. “I should have fucking known,” Wooyoung’s roommate mutters as he forces himself to stand up straight. 

“Yeosang, this isn’t what you think,” Yunho tries to explain as he approaches the other boy. What’s he supposed to say though? It’s okay because he’s not really Wooyoung? It’s not what he thinks because Wooyoung is miles away in a different body, completely oblivious to his relationships falling apart at this very moment? 

“Don’t,” Yeosang hisses when he gets too close. He levels Yunho with a cold gaze before turning his fury to San. “I can’t believe you. _Both of you_. I’m fucking going home. I’m too drunk to deal with either of you right now.” 

“Let me walk you back,” Yunho tries to offer only for Yeosang to shove him back.

“Don’t you dare,” Yeosang snaps at him. “Don’t come back tonight either. I don’t want to see you.” 

Yunho flounders for a moment because he has to go back. How’s he going to sleep and return to his own body? “Where am I supposed to sleep?” he asks weakly. 

Yeosang’s gaze is so withering that Yunho immediately shrinks back and apologizes. Now is not the time. “Looks to me like San is more than willing to let you sleep with him,” he harps. “Maybe you should ask him.” San winces but keeps quiet as Yeosang turns and storms back inside. 

Yunho hesitates, watching helplessly as Yeosang disappears back into the house. He needs to do something. He needs to fix this before they switch back and Wooyoung is left to deal with the mess he just made, but what can he do in this situation? San grabs him by the elbow and holds him back when Yunho steps towards the house. 

“Let him be for now,” San advises him. “Give him some time to cool off. I’ll tell him that it was my fault.” 

“It wasn’t though,” Yunho tells him. “I need to fix this.” He tries to pull away from San’s grip, but San holds him back. 

“You’re not going to fix this tonight,” he assures Yunho. But that’s exactly the problem. Yunho  _ needs  _ to fix this tonight. If he doesn’t, then what is Wooyoung going to wake up to? “Come on. You can stay with me tonight. My roommate always spends the weekend at his girlfriend’s place.” 

  
  
  
  


Yunho wakes up in his own room. It’s peaceful and quiet and so far removed from the awful drama he must have caused last night. He sits up with a start, throwing his blankets off himself as he frantically searches for his phone. Wooyoung. He needs to call Wooyoung right now. He finds his phone on the floor by his bed and his heart lurches when he sees a series of missed calls from Wooyoung a couple hours ago. 

Shit. 

Frantically, Yunho calls Wooyoung back, pressing his phone to his ear hard enough to hurt. 

The phone rings thrice before Wooyoung picks up. 

“Yunho, what the _fuck?_ ” 

His breath hitches at the unbridled rage in Wooyoung’s voice. Last night, Yeosang’s fury didn’t have nearly the same effect on him, but coming from Wooyoung, Yunho is lost for words. “I...where are you?” he asks. 

“I’m with San,” Wooyoung says. “What the fuck happened? What’s going on? San just said he would try to talk to Yeosang for me later, and I can  _ tell _ Yeosang is fucking pissed at me. What did you do? San won’t fucking say anything.” 

“It—that—” Yunho stutters. “We went to a party,” he finally says in a small voice. 

“Yeah, I know,” Wooyoung snaps, his patience running thin. “I’d been looking forward to it. Yeosang never comes with us, but I convinced him to this time. What happened?” 

Yunho shrinks into himself, feeling small under Wooyoung’s interrogation despite the fact that he’s safe and alone in his room. He’s terrified to tell Wooyoung the truth. “We kissed,” he forces himself to say. 

“Huh?” 

“We kissed,” Yunho repeats, fingers shaking. “San and me. Yeosang saw us.” 

“Oh, my—Yunho!” Wooyoung snaps his name. “Do you have any idea what you’ve fucking done?” 

“Of course I know,” Yunho says hoarsely. That’s why he called. He knows he fucked up, but what can he do but apologize? “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. It was my mistake. I should have stopped it sooner.” He shouldn’t have even sought out San. He’d said it too, that Yunho could have just texted him. 

“Sorry?” Wooyoung snorts. “Well, I’m glad, but your apology doesn’t exactly get me out of the mess that  _ you _ caused. God. Now my fucking ex thinks that I still like him, and my boyfriend thinks I’m trying to cheat on him with my ex!” 

Yunho winces and offers another apology. 

“Don’t. I don’t need to hear it. I need to figure out how to sort out  _ your _ mess.” 

“That’s not fair,” Yunho bites out. “It’s not like I did this on purpose to fuck you over! What am I supposed to do? I didn’t know about that party. I didn’t even know you were dating Yeosang!” 

“That doesn’t mean you can just go around and make out with whoever you want in  _ my _ body!” 

“I know!” Yunho yells, raising his voice for the first time. “I never said it was okay. I know it wasn’t, and I’m sorry! But you could have warned me! I was going in blind that entire time!” 

“You—” Wooyoung holds his breath before releasing it all in a frustrated sigh. “Okay, fine. You have a point. I just don’t know what I’m going to do. How am I supposed to explain this to them?” 

“Maybe you should tell them the truth,” Yunho suggests. “That it wasn’t really you.” 

Wooyoung laughs at the idea like it’s funny. “Who would believe that though?” Yunho supposes that he has a point there. “Oh, shit,” Wooyoung suddenly curses. 

“What?” 

“San went out to get us some coffee and he’s back now. I gotta go.” 

“Wooyoung, I am sorry,” Yunho tries to apologize one last time, but the call cuts off, and he’s not sure Wooyoung heard him. With a sigh, Yunho pulls his phone away to stare down at it. Should he text him? Make sure that Wooyoung understands his sentiment? No. Yunho doesn’t think he’s exactly been thrust in the fairest position, but he knows when he’s at fault. He made a mistake, and it will take a lot more action than just a text to right it all.

He quickly changes into something more weather appropriate and grabs his messenger bag from his desk chair. Maybe they won’t believe Wooyoung, but maybe they’d believe him. He was kind of like a random third party, no? He practically barrels out of his door and right into Hongjoong as his friend is on his way up the steps to his front door. 

“Whoa,” Hongjoong cries out as he steadies Yunho. “What’s the rush?” 

“Hongjoong.” Yunho blinks down at his friend. “What are you doing here?” 

“It’s Saturday,” Hongjoong says, tilting his head to the side when he notices Yunho’s backpack. “I thought we could get something to eat. Get you out of the house for a bit, but you look like you’re already on your way somewhere.” 

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Yunho looks down at his messenger bag. “I, uh, really need to take care of something.” 

That seems to alarm Hongjoong who looks up at him in concern. “What?” he asks. “Has something happened?”

“Um...kind of. It’s nothing to be alarmed about,” Yunho assures him. “I just need to take care of something.” 

“Well, where? I can drive you,” Hongjoong offers as he twirls his car keys around one finger, but Yunho shakes his head. He can’t ask his friend that. He’ll just take the train or something. 

“It’s, uh, far.” 

“How far?” 

Yunho swallows thickly and answers, “Seoul.” 

Hongjoong stares at him for a moment before it finally seems to register exactly where Yunho intends to go. “ _What?_ ” 

“I told you,” Yunho whines. 

“Why the hell would you need to go to Seoul?” Hongjoong demands.

Yunho fidgets when he’s put on the spot like that. “Well, because…” He struggles to find the right way to explain it. “It’s complicated,” he finally settles on. 

“Well, you’ve got like three hours to explain it to me,” Hongjoong reminds him as he ushers Yunho in the direction of his car parked in front of his house. “Let’s go. I’ll drive you but where the hell in Seoul are we going?” 

  
  
  
  


Hongjoong is kind and patient enough to allow Yunho to maintain his silence for a good portion of the start of their drive, but it becomes obvious once they're on the highway that Hongjoong is a bit anxious for an explanation. He loudly clears his throat when he feels that Yunho has been too quiet for too long. Yunho flinches at the sound and presses himself against the passenger door as if he might escape from Hongjoong’s ever watchful gaze that way. 

“So what exactly is this about?” Hongjoong asks bluntly when Yunho stubbornly remains quiet. “It must be important if you’re in such a rush to get to Seoul this morning.” 

“It’s important,” Yunho tells him as he traces his fingers along his thigh. “Listen, I’ll tell you what’s going on, but it sounds insane, okay? And you probably won’t believe me anyways.” 

“Are you in trouble?” Hongjoong asks nervously. 

“No,” Yunho is quick to deny. “But I caused some trouble, and I need to fix it.” 

“ _In Seoul?_ ” Hongjoong stresses. “How?” 

“Well, that’s the unbelievable part,” Yunho explains slowly, digging his fingers into his thighs. How does he even begin to explain what’s been happening for the past few months. “Um, so my, uh, friend, Wooyoung,” Yunho stammers. Hongjoong glances over to him, recognizing that name. “You remember him, right?” 

“You said he was a friend of some sort,” Hongjoong acknowledges. “And you said you know San through him or something.” 

Yunho nods his head because he does suppose that’s how he explained it to Hongjoong previously. “Yes, well, forget all that. It’s not really true,” he says, biting back a smile at Hongjoong’s surprised cry. “The thing is—and I swear I’m not making this up—sometimes Wooyoung and I switch bodies with each other.” He practically hears the way Hongjoong’s head snaps to the side to stare at him. 

“Come again,” he says. 

Yunho sucks in a deep breath and releases it. “Sometimes I spend a day in Wooyoung’s body and he’s here in mine,” Yunho explains again. “That’s how I actually know Wooyoung. San is his—one of his friends. That’s how I met San.” He stops himself just short of telling Hongjoong that San is actually Wooyoung’s ex-boyfriend. 

“You’re serious?” Hongjoong asks when he doesn’t see a hint of playfulness in Yunho’s expression.

“I told you it was unbelievable,” Yunho reminds him. That’s why he’s been avoiding this for so long. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s honestly the truth.” 

“Wait, hold on. Go back a second.” Hongjoong waves one hand as if to signal Yunho to take a step back. “Since when?” 

Yunho picks at his jeans, mulling over the question for a moment. “A few months? It doesn’t happen all that regularly. I’m here and me most of the time.” 

“But...but you’re saying sometimes you’re not?” Hongjoong clarifies, fingers tightening over the steering wheel as he forces himself to keep his eyes on the road. “You’re saying sometimes you’re in Seoul. In Wooyoung’s body?”

“Yeah.” 

“Okay…” Hongjoong says slowly as he tries to process Yunho’s explanation. It doesn’t make sense. How could it? The whole thing sounds crazy, and yet somehow it makes perfect sense. “Does that mean Wooyoung is here sometimes then? In—in your body?” 

“Yes. Exactly.” 

Hongjoong sighs and hunches over the steering wheel with a forlorn expression. “If that’s all really true, I have a feeling I know when I’ve met Wooyoung.” 

Yunho blanches at his claim. “Wait, really?” 

“I think so,” Hongjoong confirms. “At the time, I just thought you were in a weird mood. Better mood, actually. It was super odd the first time, but I thought maybe you were finally improving. Moving on. But then the next day it was like nothing changed. I didn’t know what to make of it for a while, but I guess you being a completely different person would make sense. It sounds crazy, but I don’t know why you would make something like that up. Plus, I guess it explains how you suddenly met and fell in love with a person I didn’t even know existed.” 

Hongjoong straightens himself back up and sneaks a glance at Yunho again. “I was really upset, you know. I couldn’t believe you wouldn’t even offer to introduce me to someone you liked,” he tells the younger boy. “Is that why you need to go to Seoul? Did something happen with San?” 

Yunho hunches his shoulders down like a scolded child. “We switched yesterday,” he admits. “And I did something that caused a huge misunderstanding between Wooyoung and his friends. I feel like I should fix it.” 

“It can’t be that bad,” Hongjoong admonishes. “I mean, you said it doesn’t even happen all that often. Do you really need to take responsibility to something like that?” 

“Yes,” Yunho says firmly. “I don’t know why this started or how to end it, but as long as it keeps happening I feel like I at least owe Wooyoung for what I did.” 

“When do you think it will stop?” Hongjoong asks him. 

“I don’t know.” 

It’s silent between them for a long period of time after that. Hongjoong fiddles with the radio, turning the volume down low enough that the music isn’t distracting but high enough that it at least fills the silence between them. “Do you want it to stop?” he asks after their long pause. 

Yunho hesitates before he says, “Yes. More than anything.” 

  
  
  
  


Hongjoong slams his door shut and scrambles after Yunho who marches up to the dorm building like he’s all too comfortable being there. If Hongjoong hadn’t believed his story before this might have completely sold him on the truth of it all. Yunho, who had been born and raised in their small town, struts across the campus and to the dorms like he’s a regular student here. 

In contrast, Hongjoong feels more than a little awkward as they enter the building. The lobby is filled with life—students mulling around and socializing with each other over the weekend. But that’s the thing. They’re all students of this school, and they’re residents of this dorm. Hongjoong and Yunho are not, and the elder clings to Yunho’s back as he makes his way to a familiar room. 

“So, who are we here for?” Hongjoong whispers when Yunho reaches out to knock on the door. “San?” 

“Wooyoung,” Yunho corrects. Hongjoong stiffens up a little at the prospect of meeting him. Then Yunho lowers his gaze to blink at him as if he’s just registering Hongjoong’s presence beside him. “You don’t have to do this with me if you don’t want to. I can meet you somewhere else later,” he says. 

“No way,” Hongjoong refutes with a shake of his head. He wouldn’t even know where to go to just kill time anyways. “I mean, you could use someone on your side, right? Like what if you try to explain your whole body switching story to someone. Who would believe it? But if I corroborate it…” Hongjoong trails off as he thinks about the logical end to his argument. “Then we’ll both look like we’re crazy, but that’s still probably better.” 

Yunho hides a laugh behind a fist as the door finally cracks open and someone pokes his head out. Yunho licks his lips when he sees Yeosang, and his guilt suddenly floods through his body. “Can I help you?” he asks, looking between Yunho and Hongjoong curiously. 

“Are you Wooyoung?” Hongjoong blurts out before Yunho can say anything. 

Yeosang’s expression immediately drops into a stormy glare at the mention of his roommate. “No, and if you’re looking for him he’s not around and he won’t be back for a while if he knows what’s good for him.” Yeosang pulls away and tries to close the door, figuring that the conversation is over in that case. However, Yunho reaches a hand out to stop him, holding the door open just the slightest bit. 

Yeosang blinks and looks up at him curiously. With a nervous smile, Yunho tells him, “That’s okay. Actually, I wanted to know if I could maybe talk to you in that case.” 

The smaller man narrows his eyes at the request and warily eyes Yunho. “Why?” he asks after a beat of silence. “What’s this about?” 

“It’s about Wooyoung,” Yunho assures him. “I, uh, need to talk to you about him. It’s about what happened last night.” 

“Did he put you up to this?” Yeosang asks suspiciously, immediately on guard after the reminder of last night’s incident. “Who are you anyways?” He doesn’t recognize this guy at all. One of Wooyoung’s friends? Unlikely. Maybe a classmate he bribed into grovelling for him? Yeosang wouldn’t put it past Wooyoung. 

“I can explain if you let us in,” Yunho offers, glancing at Hongjoong who nods his head eagerly. 

Yeosang mulls it over for a moment before he ultimately opens his door for them. “Come in,” he invites them inside. “I have a lot of questions for you though.” 

“I have no doubt,” Yunho murmurs as he steps inside. Hongjoong follows him right afterwards, closing the door quietly behind them. Yeosang motions to the desk chairs for them to sit in as he climbs onto his own bed, hugging a pillow to his chest as he patiently waits for his guests to settle in. Yunho sits at Wooyoung’s desk, turning around Yeosang’s chair for Hongjoong who hesitantly sits there. 

Everyone is silent for a prolonged moment, and Yunho takes the opportunity to look around the dorm room. It’s all so familiar in the worst kind of way. Yunho knows this room all too well, but it just feels awkward and invasive to be here in his own body. As himself finally. 

Eventually Yeosang clears his throat, and Yunho turns to look at him. “I’m sorry, who did you say you were again?” he asks.

“I’m Yunho,” he introduces himself then motions to Hongjoong. “This is my friend Hongjoong.” 

“I’m unrelated to this issue,” Hongjoong is quick to clarify. “I’m just his ride home.” 

Yeosang curtly nods his head at the response. “And what issue are we talking about exactly?” he asks Yunho. “How do you know Wooyoung exactly?” 

“It’s kind of a long story,” Yunho says, exchanging a look with Hongjoong. “Let me start from the beginning.” Yunho does his best to explain everything—what he’s already told Hongjoong and more. He gives as many details as he can, hoping that it makes it sound more believable. Yeosang is surprisingly silent during his explanation. He doesn’t interject to tell Yunho that he’s crazy, but he sits there and absorbs all the information Yunho provides him with a blank look on his face. 

“So, you see, the thing about last night—”

“Hold on,” Yeosang finally says, and Yunho immediately cuts himself off because Yeosang hasn’t said  _ anything _ up until this point. He turns his attention to Hongjoong and asks, “Do you actually believe all this?” 

Hongjoong startles when he realizes that he’s being addressed, and he meets Yunho’s gaze before nodding his head and turning back to Yeosang. “Yeah,” he answers. “I mean, I know it sounds a little weird, but I don’t think Yunho has any reason to lie.” 

“A little weird?” Yeosang asks skeptically. “He’s literally trying to argue that he’s been living in my roommate’s body.” 

“Only sometimes,” Yunho corrects in a quiet voice. 

Yeosang gives him a sharp look. “It sounds like a convenient excuse for Wooyoung’s shitty behavior,” he says. 

“Or it’s an explanation for the back and forth he’s put you and San through,” Hongjoong points out. “Look, I won’t speak for your friend, but I will speak for mine. What motivation does he have for lying?” Hongjoong waves in Yunho’s direction. “We live hours away from here in a small town. Literally, we could have just stayed there and let your poor friend deal with the mess himself and no one would have known any better.” 

“But Wooyoung—” 

“I don’t care about Wooyoung!” Hongjoong cuts him off. “You can argue that he has a reason for trying to pull your leg all you want, but Yunho  _ isn’t _ doing that.” 

“This is unbelievable,” Yeosang mutters, hiding his face in his hands. Who would believe this? Who could believe this? 

Yunho wets his lips and nervously plays with his fingers. “The first time I woke up in this room, I thought I was having a lucid dream,” he says. Yeosang lifts his head up to look at him. Slowly, Yunho stands up from his seat and walks over to Wooyoung’s unmade bed. “You woke me up because we were going to be late. I thought you were just a figment of my imagination, but the whole thing felt weirdly real. You thought I had partied so hard the day before because I couldn’t remember anything.” 

Recognition flashes through Yeosang’s eyes at the memory. Clearly he also remembers that incident. “That’s not—how could you possibly know that?” 

“Because I lived it,” Yunho explains. “The second time you woke me up in the middle of the night. You were pissed because of something that happened between Wooyoung and San. You told me to fix it or break up with him. I chose to try and fix it because I didn’t know any better. I figured out later that Wooyoung was trying to break things off with San.” 

“Wait, hold on,” Yeosang stops him when Yunho tries to continue, recounting every time he can remember in Wooyoung’s body. “Okay, okay, say this is all true.” Yunho looks over to him, noting the way Yeosang bites down on his bottom lip. It’s obvious that Yeosang can’t explain away Yunho’s knowledge of Wooyoung’s life and relationships, but he’s still reluctant to accept it. “What’s your point?” 

Yunho runs his hands over Wooyoung’s sheets as he takes in a deep breath. “It’s about last night,” he says before looking over at Yeosang. The smaller boy frowns at him before it seems to dawn on him. 

“Don’t tell me…” 

“It was me,” Yunho confirms. “Last night. I was the one who was here. That’s probably why you weren’t getting what you were expecting out of that party,” he laughs a little at the way Yeosang’s face colors. “I’m afraid I just don’t like you like that. Wooyoung really likes you though, Yeosang. I promise you. Sometimes he would call me to ask me what he should do to move your relationship forward. He really, really loves you. It’s the biggest reason things fell apart with San. What happened last night would never happen if he were there with you.” 

“So you—” Yeosang pauses as he struggles to process Yunho’s words. “Wooyoung didn’t kiss San. You did? In his body?” Yunho hesitates before nodding his head. “Why?” 

“I know it wasn’t right for me to do it. Look at the whole mess I made.” Laughing humorlessly, Yunho curls his fists into Wooyoung’s sheets. “I’m sorry. I won’t try to make any excuses. Just know that I’m really sorry for what happened.” 

“No. No, I didn’t mean it like that,” Yeosang corrects. “I meant, like, do you like San or something? Is that why…?” Yunho turns his head away and tilts his head forward in the slightest of nods. Yeosang takes a deep breath, considering the situation. “So, Wooyoung wasn’t trying to cheat on me with his ex. It was you acting on your own feelings, huh?” 

“Yes, more or less,” Yunho agrees. 

Yeosang sighs. “That’s all sorts of messed up on it’s own,” he grumbles. “But fine. I suppose I believe you. What are you going to do then?” 

Yunho and Hongjoong exchange a look. “Go home,” he answers. “Hopefully this is the end of the switching.” 

“And San?” Yeosang asks with a raised eyebrow. “Doesn’t he deserve an explanation? If all this is true, he probably believes Wooyoung’s been yanking him around and using his feelings against him.” Yunho winces, quite aware that this is the case. 

“Wooyoung’s with him right now,” Yunho explains. “We talked about telling you guys the truth, so I guess I’ll leave that to him.” 

  
  
  
  


**[ 4:14 ]**   
_ Someone named Yunho came by and explained everything _ _  
_ _ I guess your off the hook for now, but I have a lot of questions _

“San, wait!” Wooyoung calls out, grabbing his ex by the elbow while he’s trying to slip his shoes on. They were just about to leave for Wooyoung’s dorm with San promising that he would try to clear things up with Yeosang. “I need to talk to you before we go.” 

“Hm?” San hums. “Don’t worry. I already know what I’ll tell Yeosang. It might not get you out of the fire, but I think he’ll forgive you.” 

“No, no it’s not about that,” Wooyoung says. “This is really important. It’s about you.” 

San blinks at him. “Me?” he repeats. 

“Yeah. So there’s this guy I know. He has a massive crush on you,” Wooyoung says. 

San frowns. “Is this really the time to be discussing this?” 

“It’s important,” Wooyoung insists. “Hear me out.” 

  
  
  
  


Yunho might have spoken too soon when he claimed that the switches would stop happening soon. It was always a bold claim considering that Yunho never really did figure out why they started or what would trigger them. Sometimes it was only a matter of days in between switches, sometimes weeks would stretch on before a switch would suddenly trigger. This was new though. One day was a shockingly quick turn over rate for them, and yet Yunho finds himself in Wooyoung’s body again. This time he can only tell because he wakes up in a room that is distinctively not his own. However, it’s also one that he doesn’t necessarily recognize. It’s not Wooyoung’s either and, a quick glance at his surroundings later, Yeosang is noticeably absent. 

The door opens just as Yunho rolls off the bed, startling him enough that he falls to his knees rather than landing on his feet. He’s frozen stiff there when he sees San walk through the door with two paper cups and a paper bag tucked under his arm. “I got breakfast,” he answers, pausing when he sees Yunho on the floor. “You have a nightmare or something?” 

“No,” Yunho shakes his head and finally pulls himself to his feet. Why is he here? Why was Wooyoung  _ still _ here? Did he not actually fix anything with Yeosang yesterday? He frantically searches for Wooyoung’s phone, lifting up the blanket and pillows in search of the device. He needs to get in contact with Wooyoung right now. He’s not about to go into another day blind. 

“Here,” San offers him, holding out one of the cups for Yunho. He jumps and turns to stare at the cup. The scent of coffee makes Yunho recoil a little. He’s never liked the taste or smell of it, but he has a role to play for now. 

“Thanks,” he says as he accepts the offering. He immediately places it on the desk beside the bed and continues to search for his phone. 

“What are you looking for?” San asks him. 

“Phone.” 

San tilts his head, staring at Wooyoung’s back for a second before his gaze travels over to the desk where Wooyoung abandoned his coffee. Wooyoung’s phone is right there. He grabs it from the desk and reaches to tap Wooyoung with it. “Here,” he says. 

Yunho turns to look at him, breathing a sigh of relief when he sees the phone. “Thanks.” 

San watches as Wooyoung immediately turns to give him his back again, fingers tapping furiously against the screen. San dismisses it though, digging out a scone and muffin that he brought back with him. “You want the muffin?” he asks, staring at Wooyoung’s back expectantly, but the other doesn’t answer him. San gives him a moment to finish typing out whatever it is, but Wooyoung never gives his attention back to him. 

“Wooyoung?” he calls. No response, just more furious typing. “Wooyoung!” San can’t help but stare at the untouched cup of coffee. He’s never known Wooyoung to turn down a coffee before. He even got his favorite. Biting down on his lip, San looks down at Wooyoung’s hunched over form when a thought crosses his mind. “Yunho?” he calls out hesitantly. 

His breath hitches in his throat when  _ that _ finally elicits a response, and Wooyoung—no, Yunho—turns to look at him. San nearly crushes the muffin in his hand when Wooyoung stares at him with wide, curious eyes. “Holy shit,” he curses under his breath, and Yunho finally seems to have recognized his blunder. 

“Ah! Uh, fuck,” he curses, running his fingers through his hair. 

“You’re Yunho, aren’t you?” San asks.

Wooyoung—or Yunho rather—looks away bashfully. “I, uh, assume Wooyoung told you everything?” 

San narrows his eyes at him, and Yunho shrinks under his gaze. “He did. We talked about it late into the night,” San confirms. “I admit that I wasn’t sure if I really believed the whole thing. But you...you’re definitely not Wooyoung.” 

“I’m not,” Yunho admits. “Wooyoung probably told you that though, didn’t he?” 

San leans against the desk, mindful of the coffee cup still on it. “Can you prove it?” he asks. 

“Prove it how?” Yunho asks. Hasn’t San already technically caught him when he failed to respond to Wooyoung’s name? 

San shrugs, still eyeing Wooyoung critically. He doesn’t think his ex would go so far as to just  _ pretend _ to be someone else, but it made more sense than whatever the hell this is. “I don’t know. Can’t you do something Wooyoung can’t?”

Yunho looks around, eyes landing on a backpack propped up against the desk. He digs through it for a pen and a piece of paper before he crawls over San to lay the paper on the desktop. San scurries out of the way, and Yunho tries his best to ignore the way his heart tightens. He focuses instead on the piece of paper before him, mind blanking as he starts sketching. 

San observes him from a distance, his interest growing when he realizes that Yunho is drawing someone. He leans over the desk to watch, amazed at the detail and talent displayed in such a rough sketch. “Is that you?” he asks, watching as the person in the picture seems to come alive. 

Yunho shakes his head, fiddling with his speedy sketch so he doesn’t have to look at San. Thankfully, he at least had the foresight to  _ not _ sketch San for the millionth time. “Friend of mine,” he answers, staring at Seonghwa’s face thoughtfully. What would Seonghwa tell him in this kind of situation? “Wooyoung’s not much of an artist, right?” He remembers San commenting on his doodles once. He seemed surprised by the idea that Wooyoung could draw. 

“Alright,” San acknowledges, reaching out for the drawing. Yunho allows him to have it, waiting with baited breath as San analyzes his work. “So, you’re really someone else, huh?” 

“Sorry,” Yunho apologizes, capping the pen and setting it carefully down on the desk.

San lowers the paper down enough so he can peer down at Yunho. “Wooyoung told me that you have a crush on me,” he tells him. 

Yunho freezes, not necessarily surprised but a little horrified by the notion that Wooyoung would just casually lay out his feelings for San like that. Maybe it’s totally fair though. San clearly knew about them. He just misinterpreted them as Wooyoung’s feelings. “Did he?” he asks nervously, eyes fixed on the desk. 

“Do you?” San asks. 

Yunho swallows thickly, stomach churning as a wave of nausea begins to consume him. “I kissed you,” he points out. 

“I kissed you,” San corrects. “Well, I thought I was kissing Wooyoung.” 

“Right,” Yunho agrees, reaching out for the pen again. That’s the whole messed up thing about this, isn’t it? Yunho likes San who likes Wooyoung who’s dating Yeosang. 

“Listen, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I like Wooyoung,” San tells him. 

Yunho winces. “Yeah, I know,” he says. 

“But I also realize that a lot of the things that he was doing that rekindled that affection was actually _you_.” Yunho peers up at him from where he’s kneeling on the floor. San meets his gaze but only for a moment before he looks away with a sigh. “This is the weirdest thing on earth,” he grumbles unhappily. Yunho smiles wryly. He couldn’t agree more. “Look,” San addresses him again, “I don’t exactly know what to do in this situation, but if...if you really like me then prove it.” 

Yunho tilts his head up to look at him, cocking one eyebrow at the demand. “How?” 

“Next weekend,” San tells him. “There’s a pond on the north end of campus. Meet me there. As yourself.” 

Yunho gulps. “I live far from here,” he says. 

“Then don’t come,” San grits out. “Then I’ll know where we stand.” 

“I’ll come!” Yunho cries out. “I’ll meet you there. As me.” 

San’s shoulders relax after Yunho agrees, and his gaze drops back down to the sketch in his hand. “I won’t promise you anything, but if it was really you all that time I feel like maybe I can actually move on from Wooyoung.” 

“It’s okay,” Yunho assures him. “I can’t even imagine what you must feel like. I probably confused the shit out of you.” 

“No kidding,” he snorts, admiring the person in the drawing. He wonders what Yunho’s friend is like. “I knew things were falling apart for me and Wooyoung, but then I thought there was a chance because you were being so nice to me. You were trying so hard to repair our fucked up relationship. I thought after Wooyoung broke up with me that he was just conflicted, but there was just someone else in his body.” 

“I’m sorry,” Yunho apologizes again. 

San sighs and sets the sketch down on the desk. “Don’t be. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you too, trying to pretend to be someone you’re not.” He cocks his head. A nagging feeling tugs at the back of his mind as he stares at Yunho’s drawing. Then the thought suddenly hits him. “Wait a second. Were  _ you _ the one who broke up with me?” 

“Huh?” Yunho plays dumb. 

“You were  _ drawing _ something that day,” San points out. “It was you, wasn’t it?” 

“Listen, I can explain—” 

San curses, “I’m killing Wooyoung the next time I see him. What a fucking coward.” The tension in Yunho’s body deflates a little at San’s response. He’s irritated, sure, but it’s not exactly the shit storm Yunho would have expected, but San is quick to notice his relaxation. “Don’t think you’re off the hook either! I’ll kick your ass too for your part. Next weekend. At the pond where you _broke up with me_.” 

“I was just trying to help Wooyoung out a little,” Yunho defends himself meekly. 

“I can’t believe you broke up with me when we weren’t even technically _dating_ ,” San groans. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Next weekend. By the pond. At 2. I’ll make sure you feel sorry,” San tells him while Yunho obediently nods his head. He can do that. He can definitely do that for San’s sake. 

  
  
  
  


San checks the time on his phone and scowls when he sees that it’s five past two in the afternoon. There aren’t too many people at the pond today despite it being the weekend, cold weather probably keeping most people in for today. Still, it doesn’t stop San from staring at every biker, jogger, and pedestrian who breezes by him and his bench. He doesn’t exactly know who he’s looking for. He has nothing to go on in terms of what Yunho looks like. Wooyoung wouldn’t say much about him and didn’t have any pictures. San had tried his hand at trying to track him down on social media, but no luck. 

So every person who passes by could potentially be Yunho, and San isn’t willing to just let him fall through his fingertips. But it’s already past two, past their agreed upon meeting time, and San is still sitting by himself on the bench Yunho had sat on as he broke up with him for Wooyoung. 

Another five minutes pass, and San nearly jumps out of his seat when someone finally approaches him only to promptly deflate when the person just asks him for directions to the humanities building. He’s starting to doubt if Yunho even  _ is _ a real person when someone approaches him again. San only looks up when a paper cup is shoved into his face. 

Sitting back, San trails his eyes up this person’s body, blinking at the tall, handsome stranger who’s looking back at him, coffee still offered out to San. San holds his breath when their eyes meet. He hadn’t expected this. He hadn’t accounted for the possibility that Yunho might be attractive. He expected to meet Yunho and conclude that it didn’t matter who he was—Wooyoung was always the one he was in love with. He doesn’t expect his heart to flutter like this. 

“Yunho?” he asks as he finally takes the coffee Yunho offered him. He can smell the scent of caramel of coffee. 

“Um, hi,” Yunho greets him awkwardly. San shivers at the sound of his voice, fingers tightening around the paper cup in his hands. “Sorry I’m a little late. It took longer than I thought to get here and then I thought I should get you something…” 

San looks down at the coffee cup in his hands. He’s used to getting one as an apology, but this one doesn’t quite feel like an apology gift. “Thank you,” he murmurs, taking a sip of his drink. It’s sweet. Just the way he likes it. He peers up at Yunho and then pats the space next to him on the bench. 

Yunho hesitates but sits down next to San, adjusting his bag to hold it on his lap. “Isn’t this kind of weird?” Yunho asks him. “I mean, this is where you and Wooyoung broke up…” 

“It’s where you broke up with me  _ for _ Wooyoung,” San corrects him with a sideways glance. Yunho just clears his throat and averts his gaze. “Well, I guess it wasn’t all bad,” San adds after sensing Yunho’s discomfort. “You’re really not what I was expecting.” 

“In a good way or a bad way?” Yunho asks. 

San hums and takes another sip of his coffee. “So far I’d say it’s overall good,” he remarks. When he looks over again, he meets Yunho’s eyes, and his lips curl up into a small smile. He scoots a little closer to Yunho who tenses up before forcing himself to relax. “Don’t misunderstand me,” San warns him. “It’s a weird situation, and you still have a lot of things to make up for if you ask me. Tricking me like that in Wooyoung’s body and all.” 

“I wasn’t trying to,” Yunho says in a pained voice. 

“I understand, but it still sucked.” San peers up at him. “Even so...you’re oddly familiar already. I feel like we’ve met before.” 

“I guess we have technically,” Yunho admits. “Just...not when I could be myself.” 

“Hm.” San leans forward to get a better look at Yunho’s face. “You think so? I feel like you were always yourself.” Yunho meets his gaze with his own confused expression, and San’s lips curl up into a cheshire grin. “I mean, I guess there was a reason that I thought Wooyoung was so reluctant to break up with me that day. Because you were you and not Wooyoung.” 

“Uh,” Yunho stutters, hands curling into fists on his lap. 

“You’ll make it up to me though, won’t you?” 

“Yes,” Yunho agrees without hesitation.

“Then I guess there’s nothing to worry about. You haven’t exactly been what I was expecting but in a good way. I hope you’ll become that but in the best way, though.” 

Yunho swallows thickly but nods his head in agreement. It feels like a tall order to fill, but he can’t just give up right now. “I’ll make it up to you,” he promises, faltering when he notices the expectant look on San’s face. “What is it?” 

“I’m just waiting,” he answers vaguely. 

“Waiting for what?” 

San’s lips purse together in a pout, and he practically glowers at Yunho. “Well? Aren’t you going to ask me out on a date or something?” 

“Oh. Yeah, right.” Yunho rubs his sweaty palms against his pant legs. A date would probably be a good place to start, huh? “Um, would you like to get dinner together later?” 

San grins at him, pleased by the request. “Sure. I know a good place.” 

  
  
  
  


Yeosang spares Wooyoung’s phone a quick glance when it rings before turning his attention back to his computer to finish up his homework. Wooyoung’s in the bathroom right now, taking a shower, but he’d left his phone on the bed next to Yeosang. He finishes up the conclusion of his paper before reaching for his boyfriend’s phone out of curiosity when it rings again. 

When he flips it over to stare at the lock screen, he can’t help but raise an eyebrow when San’s name lights up the screen. Wooyoung steps back into the room at that moment with just a towel around his waist, although he pauses when he sees his phone in Yeosang’s hand. 

“What are you doing?” he asks. 

“San texted you,” Yeosang answers, waving the phone around before he promptly unlocks it. 

“Hey! Are you just reading my texts? That’s an invasion of privacy!” Wooyoung protests. 

“Why? You don’t have anything to hide, do you?” 

“No! But why do you even know my passcode?” Wooyoung complains. 

“Because you’re a moron,” Yeosang answers, bringing up Wooyoung’s text messages. “Your passcode is appallingly simple.” 

**[ 6:54 ]** **  
** _ img attached _ _  
_ _ i’ve upgraded from you ❤ _

**[ 6:55 ]** **  
** _ better hope i don’t tell yeo he’s eligible for an upgrade after 2 years _

Yeosang can’t help but laugh at San’s texts, and his reaction only seems to heighten Wooyoung’s defensiveness. “What?” his boyfriend demands. “What did San say?” 

“Oh, nothing,” Yeosang says, shoving Wooyoung’s phone underneath him when his boyfriend lunges for it. “He’s just showing off his new boyfriend is all.” He wraps his arms tight around Wooyoung’s waist to stop him from wiggling too much. 

“Who? Yunho?” 

Yeosang hums in agreement. He recognized the boy in San’s picture, and he can’t help but smile, glad that everything seemed to have worked out. “They’re over now, right? The switching and shit.” 

“It’s only been a week,” Wooyoung grumbles into Yeosang’s stomach. “It’s probably too early to say, but I think so.” 

“You think so?” Yeosang asks. 

“Just a feeling,” Wooyoung says with a shrug. “But enough about that. I’m naked and on your bed. Surely we have better things to be doing.” 

“You’re right,” Yeosang agrees with a hum before promptly rolling Wooyoung off of him and over the side of the bed. “I still have some homework to get done.” He bites back a smile at Wooyoung’s whines of protest. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed!


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